Namikaze Brothers
by Renatus
Summary: Battling Akatsuki, 18 yr old Naruto finds himself in the past, except he didn't come alone & the changes are already escalating. New peers, rumors, trouble, & he's worried about the Kyubi that's still on the loose... & what that means for his father.
1. JIKANGIRE being out of time

**Author's Note:** Hm, my first attempt at a Naruto fic, and I think I chose a doosey of a subject. I'm sticking to canon (at least trying hard to) so let me know if I screwed something up – like a technique name, someone's age or similar. Know though, that certain events will be altered due to the nature of the story.

**Rating:** Rated T for the natural violence of ninjas and also for language. Naruto's mouth can be a bit crude, and he's not the only one, either.

**Disclaimer:** Naruto and etc. aren't mine, but there is a growing collection of original characters that will undoubtedly make their appearances.

oooOoooOoooOooo

**Namikaze Brothers **Arc One : Magirekomu Bettenchi(to be lost in another world)

By Renatus

**Chapter 01** – Jikangire (being out of time)

oooOoooOoooOooo

Naruto woke suddenly, as most Shinobi tended to, though his body didn't otherwise react to his quick conscious shift into wakefulness. He breathed evenly, deeply, as if he was still asleep, listening for the sound or motion that had woken him with such suddenness. The area was quiet with the sound of the wind through leaves, and the distinct absence of birdsong, that made the distant sounds of destruction echo through the trees.

Naruto's eyes opened suddenly, seeing the branches of the tall Konoha trees above him. The forest was cast in shadow, like late evening. There was a wide swath of uprooted trees and trenches of dirt around him. Naruto sat up and groaned as his body protested the movement. He felt slow and worn out, and struggled to feel his own chakra, weakly pulsing beneath his skin. Pushing a few stray branches off of him, Naruto got to his feet, feeling drained and weak.

He looked over himself, looking for unfelt wounds. His clothes were ragged, one dark pant leg tattered at the ends, the other still tucked into the bindings around his calves. His shirtsleeves were dirty and one of the swirled patches on his arms had been torn, and his black and orange coat had deep gashes across his chest, leaving it flapping in the breeze. He was a bit worse for wear and he knew he looked like he just came out of the bad end of a good fight, but he wasn't wounded. At least not anymore.

_'What happened?'_ he thought, taking in the surrounding area. He knew the location, though he barely recognized it with the uprooted trees. It was one of Konoha's outside training grounds, one of the furthest from the village's walls. He could see the top edge of the Hokage Monument in the distance through the trees. Battle sounds echoed through the trees again and Naruto scaled a tree, trying to figure out the direction of the sounds. He perched on a high branch, taking in the view of the village and its walls and the mountain beside it. The sun was low over the horizon, casting long shadows. He turned and stared, motionless in shock.

Crouched low over the forest in the distance stood the Kyubi, its nine tails sweeping in great arcs over its body. Naruto could hear its growls and calls vibrating through the trees. He couldn't believe his eyes. The Kyubi was supposed to be sealed within him, not loose to wreak havoc on Konoha again.

Naruto stared at the sight. He could barely make out the shapes of Shinobi attempting to battle it, desperately trying to turn it away from its path towards the hidden village. Shock and anger and confusion swirled through him and he suddenly felt something that made his anger disappear in an instant and feed his confusion twice-fold.

The Kyubi's chakra was not inside of him.

Naruto frantically looked down at his stomach, pulling his shirt up to stare at his bare stomach. He could see faint traces of the once-there seals, the lines faded like old scars. The Kyubi was not sealed within him like it should have been. Its absence sent Naruto reeling, and not just from the shock, but from the sudden realization of the feeling of emptiness – a great expanse of himself that had once been full to bursting with barely restrained power and rage was no longer there.

"What the hell?" he whispered staring back at the sight before him. The nine-tailed fox swung its tails violently, toppling a great swath of trees and sending a cloud of dust and debris into the air. "How did it get out?"

_'Impossible.'_ Naruto thought, still too shocked to really react. _'What the hell happened?'_

Flashes of memory surfaced slowly, then more rapidly as he wracked his brain for some explanation to what was going on and he wondered if he was dead. _'I should be dead.'_ Scenes of Konoha's distant training grounds in ruins, black flames, a swirled mask and a taunting voice echoed through his head. Madara. Uchiha Madara and the bastard's annoying time jutsus (1) which made a battle with the guy aggravating enough to pull out the nine-tail's chakra so early; too early. Naruto didn't have the strength otherwise to face him, or the speed. But he also remembered, vaguely through the haze that was his mind behind the Kyubi's shroud and tails, that Madara had found him terribly annoying in return; enough to do something about it. Something that Naruto had no idea was possible, but Madara had calmly stood before him and told him exactly what he was going to do – and when.

Naruto knew where he thought he was, but he wasn't sure he believed it.

Naruto twisted his head back around to look at the village, his eyes immediately went to the monument, the faces of the Hokages carved in stone above the village. There were only four. Naruto felt his eyes widen at the sight. The Fifth's face was not there, leaving the space it had – would – take a rough, uneven lump of cliff and stone. Naruto's eyes slowly tracked back to the Kyubi raging in the distance as his mind was locked in a state between absolute numbness and complete chaos.

He had traveled back in time.

"Madara." He growled, watching the fox in the distance with growing anger. He looked around him, trying to find the man responsible for his situation. He couldn't sense him anywhere, but that didn't mean he wasn't near. Naruto looked back to the village, wondering where the man would head to first. Naruto wasn't sure, he couldn't predict the Uchiha.

"Kushina." Naruto whispered, suddenly remembering. Madara was going to go after his infant self and his mother, killing the child before the fox could be sealed. Naruto looked around again, wondering where he would find her. He didn't know where she had lived, or how she had died this night. He could scour the entire village and miss her. The fox in the distance took down another swatch of forest, growling into the darkening sky. Naruto could see its eyes glowing slightly, reflecting the sinking light of the sun. He could feel the malice and anger of the fox's nature from his distance, rolling over and through the forest in near tangible waves of power and rage and killing intent so potent that it took his breath away.

As he watched, suddenly a large summoning grew out of the depths of the forest. Naruto felt his eyes widen at the sight of Gamabunta, the boss toad, standing between the rampaging nine-tailed fox and the village's walls. Atop the toad's head stood the tall figure of a man. Naruto knew who he was. Even from his distance, he could see the features of the Fourth Hokage staring down the visage of the angry fox.

The nine-tails screamed its fury, slashing its clawed hands toward the toad. Gamabunta hopped out of the way, drawing his blade and spitting out great balls of water bombs. The water struck the fox harshly, exploding in great waves of chakra and water. The fox screamed again, but didn't retaliate. Instead it jumped back away from the boss toad. Naruto stared, shocked again as the fox retreated, still screaming and growling in anger and rage as it distanced itself from the toad and the village.

'_Why is it retreating?'_

"That's not right." Naruto said, standing as he watched the fox's retreat. "What's going on?"

Gamabunta and the Fourth didn't follow far, keeping close to the village's surrounding forest. Naruto watched as the fox screamed one last time before disappearing in a splash of chakra and smoke.

It had left.

"What the hell?" Naruto looked around the area again, wondering if it had just changed locations to attack from a new direction. But he couldn't even feel the lingering traces of the nine-tails's chakra in the area. It had completely left, as if it had been unsummoned. Naruto blinked.

"Madara." Naruto growled, and jumped from his perch, propelling himself forward through the trees, keeping Gamabunta and the Fourth Hokage on his head in his sights. He had to warn him. He cringed as his muscles ached at the forced motion. He wouldn't be able to do much, his body was too worn out and tired.

'_Damn Madara.'_ He snarled to himself, _'He actually wore me out. Forced me to use the stupid fox's chakra. I don't even have the strength to activate my bloodline limit.'_ It was unusual that Naruto's stamina gave out enough that he didn't have the strength to hold onto the low-chakra-consuming bloodline limit. He wondered if his severe weariness had anything to do with the time-jump, the sudden lack of the Kyubi, or if Madara was actually that difficult. Naruto wasn't sure, he didn't remember much of the last bit of his battle with Madara before he woke up. He recalled only Madara's threat and his own reaction – releasing the sixth tail of the Kyubi sealed within him. He had never done so before. He honestly hadn't thought he would survive it.

Naruto closed the distance to the Fourth quickly, racing through the trees and dodging a couple Shinobi. The Fourth was looking away from him, addressing a team of Shinobi perched in the trees near him, gesturing towards the swath of destruction left by the fox.

Naruto jumped high into the trees and launched himself into the air over Gamabunta's back. The Fourth turned towards him, a kunai in his hand and his coat flapping around him. Naruto landed a few paces away, crouched in his landing. He felt the boss toad shift and move ender him, grumbling.

"Eh, who is that?" Gamabunta said, his voice vibrating threateningly through Naruto's feet. The Fourth watched him carefully, his eyes narrowed. Naruto watched him in return, not moving as he stared at the man. He had spent a lifetime looking up at this man's face carved in stone, claiming his greatness and dreams to surpass the great Namikaze Minato, the man who had sealed the nine-tailed beast within him, his own son.

The Fourth watched him, his eyes narrowed slightly. Naruto remained still, letting the man look him over, trying not to look like he had just impertinently perched himself atop the toad boss's head in order to attack the Hokage. He would be lucky if Gamabunta didn't swallow him whole for his audacity alone.

"Who are you?" The Fourth asked, his voice steady and even and laced with threat. Naruto blinked and stood slowly.

Naruto didn't respond right away, knowing that by his silence he was letting the Fourth know that he was about to say something untruthful, or in the least, not the whole truth. Naruto wanted him to know he was going to give him a false name.

"Kodora." Naruto said, watching as the Fourth's eyes narrowed slightly. Naruto didn't want to lie to him, but he wasn't sure if he should reveal who he really was or not. On one hand, he was sure there were rules regarding the whole time-travel process, rules that had to do with not messing up the timeline and creating things like paradoxes.

"Hokage-sama," one of the Shinobi in the nearby trees said, gaining their attention.

"Satou," Minato said, turning slightly to them, "Make sure the wounded get to the hospital for treatment, set up a secondary defense barrier in a perimeter around the village and make sure there is a rotating guard on all the walls. If the Kyubi is sighted again, notify me immediately!"

"Hai (2)! Hokage-sama!" Satou called and shot off into the forest, taking his team with him. Naruto glanced at them as they left before turning his eyes back to the man across from him. They had been left mostly alone, and Naruto knew that there was no longer anyone close enough to hear their words except for the toad beneath their feet.

"Small tiger?" the Fourth asked, translating the name with a slight raise of a brow.

Naruto felt a mixing of aggravation and long-suffering amusement at the name, and he let it show. "A name a friend gave to me." Naruto said, seeing Sai's face in his mind. "When someone said that I fight as if I was a caged tiger. He found it amusing, and called me 'small tiger' because of my – well, he thought it was funny anyways. It stuck, regrettably."

The Fourth didn't respond, but Naruto thought he saw some amusement in the man's subtle shift of expression. Naruto pondered his unique position again, weighing the pros and cons of what and how much to say to the man in front of him. He knew that the Fourth had no reason to trust him, but Naruto didn't have the time nor energy to deal with Madara on his own. He needed the Yondaime's help. Naruto decided to throw caution to the wind. His more reckless, insane plans tended to work better anyways.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto." He said.

The Fourth's eyes widened then narrowed, crouching slightly into a more ready stance. Naruto shifted a foot backwards before stopping himself.

"Look, it's a long story, but I'm not here to fight you." Naruto said, "I'm here to warn you. Kushina's in danger. The guy who summoned the fox is here to kill m- her son before you get the chance to seal the Kyubi inside of him. He's going to kill her! Where is she?"

"Who is going to kill her?" Minato asked darkly.

Naruto sucked in a breath. "Uchiha Madara."

"Madara?"

"Yes, look, I know it sounds crazy, but he's got some crazy time jutsu thing and he's come back here to kill her and m- eh." Naruto stopped and rubbed a hand over the back of his neck.

"He's come back here?" Minato asked, standing straight again. "Exactly what do you mean?"

"He came from the future." Naruto said. "Well, so did I. But that's besides the point. He came back to- "

"You're from the future?"

Naruto stared at him, not sure if Minato was taking him seriously or if he was trying to decide if he had a crazy person on his hands. Naruto wasn't too sure himself. The whole situation was crazy and he barely believed it himself. He had no idea that jumping through time was even possible to a small scale until he had faced Madara for the first time. Then Kakashi had tried to explain the Fourth's use of time and space jutsus, which had just confused him for ages. But Naruto had seen Madara's space and time jutsus first hand, had tried to fight against him and failed, though even then, Naruto had a hard time believing that he had traveled nearly two decades into the past.

Naruto sucked in a deep breath, "Madara can manipulate time with some sort of jutsu that I can't explain and just confuses the hell out of me, but he does it and it's annoying and he managed to drag me along, though-" Naruto paused, "I wonder if he realizes I got dragged along with him." Naruto shook his head, "Anyways, he's here to get rid of me before I get annoying, he said, so he's going to-" he stopped again, looking back into the bright blue eyes of his father.

Minato was watching him with a blank look, hiding any of his thoughts or emotions. Naruto wasn't sure what else to say to the man. He didn't think they had a lot of time. Kushina and his infant self were in serious danger and Naruto was pretty sure that Madara wouldn't just fiddle around in going after them.

_'Why did he call off the Kyubi from attacking Konoha?'_ Naruto wondered, looking back to the destruction that the fox had left in its wake.

"Oh!" Naruto said, turning his attention back to the man across from him, "That's it!" Naruto took a few steps forward, pulling up his shirt to bare his stomach. Minato watched him carefully, not moving to either raise his weapon or keep the distance between them.

Minato's eyes flickered down to his abdomen and widened slightly. Naruto held the hem of his shirt up so the Fourth could see the faint, scarring traces of the seals that once held the Kyubi within him. Even if the Kyubi was gone, and the seals were barren, they could still be seen. Naruto knew that the Fourth would recognize his own work, even if they were now dead seals, and the man would know what they had been created for.

"It used to house the Kyubi." Naruto said, "I don't know what happened to it, when I woke up here – now – it was gone, but the seals are still there."

Minato remained silent, his blue eyes piercing as he looked into Naruto's own. Naruto had no idea what he was thinking, but he felt only minimal amounts of threat from the man. He seemed to be more curious than threatened, for which Naruto was grateful, but they still didn't have a lot of time.

"It's a long story, but we don't have time for it right now." Naruto said, holding his father's blue gaze. "Madara is going after mom. Now."

"Hey, Minato!" Gamabunta said. Naruto shifted as the toad's voice vibrated through his feet, looking down over the edge of his head. Gamabunta moved, sheathing his sword and pulling his long pipe out of his clothing. "Who is this kid, eh?"

Minato looked at Naruto before turning his attention to the toad below him. "Gamabunta," Minato said, "Can you take us to the village?"

"Eh?" the toad said, puffing on his pipe. "I'm pretty big, you sure you want me to get that close?"

"Just jump in that direction and we'll jump off when we're close." Minato said.

"Well alright." Gamabunta said, "But I want an explanation later. I don't just let anyone sit on my head, Minato!"

"Hey boss!" Naruto called, grinning and rapping on the toad's head with his foot. The toad moved under him, and the two rode the motions out. Minato raised an eyebrow at him, but said nothing.

"Boss, is it?" Gamabunta said. Naruto could see the toad's eyes rolling to look up at them. The toad chuckled, the sound and motion rolling under their feet. "Ha, haha! Minato, I like this kid! I could use another subordinate. Alright, then, kid. I'll give you a chance to prove yourself to be my subordinate."

Naruto scowled and crossed his arms, grumbling under his breath about ungrateful toad bosses.

"What was that, kid?" the toad said, his pipe letting out a puff of smoke.

"I said I ain't doing that again!" Naruto said. "Once was enough for me."

"Oooh?" Gamabunta said, his eyes rolling again as he pulled on his pipe.

"Gamabunta," Minato said, "We are short on time."

"Very well." The toad said. "Hang on then."

Naruto staggered his feet as the toad shifted below him, noticing Minato barely moving at Gamabunta's motions. Gamabunta crouched low, folding his legs under him, and Naruto braced himself for the force of the toad's impending jump. A second later the toad jumped. Naruto sucked in a sharp breath at the jump, forced to crouch low atop the toad's head as they soared over the short span of forest towards the village. Just before the toad would have landed atop the walls and nearby buildings Gamabunta disappeared in a puff of smoke with an echoing, "Call me later, Minato."

Naruto stumbled at the sudden lack of support under his feet before somersaulting in the air and landing only slightly awkward atop the edge of a roof. Looking around he spotted Minato not far, balanced on the peak of the roofline above him.

"This way." Minato said, jumping to the next roof. Naruto followed, their speed picking up quickly as Minato gauged Naruto's ability to keep pace. They crossed half the village and Naruto followed him down into the street outside of the hospital. Minato looked at him again, his blue eyes piercing as Naruto forced himself not to shift or fidget. Naruto wasn't sure what the other man was thinking, but a moment later Minato turned and headed towards the doors. Naruto followed him silently.

oooOoooOoooOooo

Rin fidgeted slightly, her eyes looking over Kushina's sweat-drenched body in a mixture of concern and support. She rinsed a wet rag in the bowl of cold water next to her before using it to wipe the woman's face. Kushina breathed quickly but deeply and gave her a smile.

"He sure is impatient, eh, Rin-chan?" she said.

Rin smiled. "He'll be strong, I'm sure."

"Of course he will be." The nurse across from her said. The woman fussed a bit with the bedding, her old hands sure and precise in their movements.

Kushina nodded, her body sinking into the sheets around her. Her contractions were growing more intense and closer together. Rin knew that the baby would be birthed soon, within hours, likely. He was already two weeks early, and Kushina's labor pains were increasing fast.

If only it was any other day. Rin glanced out of window, but saw nothing but the village and the darkening sky above it. It seemed peaceful, too much so. The nine-tails was making its way to Konoha and the Hokage had been forced to chose between being there for the birth of his son, or facing down the Kyubi. Rin knew that her Sensei would give his life for the village, but she did wish that he could have been there for Kushina, not that either of the girls would begrudge the man his choice. He was the Hokage after all, and it was his nature to put others before himself, and his village before anything else.

Kushina cried out again, and Rin turned at the sound, watching the wave of pain pass through the pregnant woman's body. She reached out and brushed Kushina's hair to the side, and made a soothing sound in her throat. A moment later the contraction passed and Kushina sagged back to the bed.

"Just breathe, dear." The nurse said. Kushina cracked one eye open to give the woman a tired glare, but it went ignored. Rin smiled slightly and patted Kushina's hand.

"Oh good," a dark voice said from the window, "I'm not late."

Rin spun at the sound and sucked in a breath at the sight of a darkly dressed man perched on the widow sill. He wore an orange, spiraled mask that was cracked, revealing his eyes and a part of his left cheek. The man slipped to the floor with barely a sound, his red eyes – his sharingan eyes – fixed on the pregnant woman lying on the bed. Rin could barely move. The man sent out a steady wall of killer intent that caused the air to freeze in her lungs. She couldn't even breathe as she stared in shock and horror at the man.

"Wh- who are you?" Kushina ground out.

"Me?" the man said, "It's not important, I'm afraid."

Kushina grunted as another contraction hit her and Rin wished that she could move to comfort her, but the terror and intensity in the air had frozen her to the spot. All she could do was stare at the sharingan eyes of the man as he slowly took a few steps forward, his hand raising towards them.

"What do you want?" Kushina asked, her voice strained.

The man glanced at her. "You and that child within you dead."

Something flickered and Rin heard a sharp gasp and pained gurgle from behind her. She finally found the strength to move and looked behind her to see the nurse clutching her throat and staggering backwards. Blood streamed down from behind her hands and the old woman stumbled awkwardly against the wall. Rin watched in growing horror as she slid down the wall, her eyes glassing over.

Rin had fought in a war. She had killed and healed and seen many of the horrible things that shinobi could do to each other, but she had never felt anything like the solid darkness of killing intent the man gave off. She hadn't even seen him move. She had no idea what he had done to kill the nurse so quickly. Rin's eyes slowly tracked back to the man to find the sharingan staring back at her. His expression was bored and uninterested, but the three tomoes twirled lazily as he focused on her. She knew that she was next, and she wasn't sure there was anything she could do about it. Rin screamed, some part of her desperately hoping that someone would hear and come running to help.

oooOoooOoooOooo

They traversed the halls with little delay, Minato greeting a few of those they passed. Naruto took in the minor disorder of the main lobby, wondering how many Shinobi had been injured or killed from the short attack by the fox. He wondered, then, how many hadn't been killed since the nine-tailed fox had retreated before it reached the walls of the village.

A distant scream echoed down the halls and was suddenly muffled. Minato seemed to stop in mid step, frozen for a moment before disappearing, his form flickering down the hall in his speed. Naruto blinked once and chased after him, his body protesting and barely able to keep up with the man's incredible speed. He saw him flicker around a corner at the end of the hall and out of sight and Naruto tried to pull more speed out of his limbs to follow him. He dashed down the hallway and skidded around the corner, crashing into the wall opposite in his wild attempt to change directions in a dead sprint on a slick floor. His heavily drained reserves of chakra flared at the motion, aiding his movements as he charged down the new hallway, spotting a door hanging from its hinges ahead of him.

Another pained shout echoed down the hall, and Naruto skidded across the opening of the door, grabbing onto the frame in order to stop. The small hospital room was a bit crowded, a woman was laying on the bed, bloodied, a girl standing over her with chakra laced through her fingers. A woman was slumped against the wall nearby, her eyes staring off and blood coating her chest from her throat. Minato stood between the girls and a darkly dressed man whom Naruto recognized immediately.

"Madara." Naruto snarled, feeling the sensation of fury that was oddly cold without the fox's fiery heat to push it. Madara turned sharply at his voice, his sharingan eyes widening slightly.

"You!" Madara hissed, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Came along for the ride." Naruto said, crouching slightly with his hands on the doorframe to either side of him to hold himself up. "What? You didn't realize you had a passenger?"

"You are more trouble than you're worth, Jinchuriki." Madara said, sneering at him.

Naruto growled, the sound rumbling deep in his throat like it had when the Kyubi's fury had leaked into his own, even though he knew that the fox's chakra and emotions were no longer within him. He tensed then shot forward, barreling himself towards Madara. Madara's form flickered slightly, shifting to the side out of Naruto's path. Naruto snarled, and he saw Minato kick out sharply, hitting Madara in the side and sending the man back into Naruto's line of attack. Naruto tackled him, wrapping his arms around the man and digging his shoulder into his gut as the force of their movement took them both through the wall.

Naruto didn't release the man, digging his clawed hands into Madara's collar as they crashed to the pavement below. They rolled, Naruto holding the man to prevent him from flickering away and dragged him to his feet, pulling a kunai from his pouch.

Madara blocked it with his own, the weapons sparking at the contact. Madara shot out his free hand and wrapped it around Naruto's neck. Naruto didn't release him, grunting at the force constricting around his throat and slowly cutting off his air.

"You have proved to be a thorn in my side, Jinchuriki." Madara said, tightening his hold. Naruto ignored his body's need to gag, snarling silently at the man and letting his chakra flare around them. He didn't have much left, yet it swirled around him in harsh currents of wind that cut into both of their skin and clothes.

"This village is mine." Madara whispered with a sneer.

Naruto growled low in his throat despite the hand cutting off his ability to breath. "I. Won't. Let you." He said, struggling to get the words out.

Madara chuckled darkly, squeezing his hand tighter around his neck. Naruto gagged slightly and tried to suck in a breath that couldn't make it through to his lungs.

"You've already failed, Jinchuriki." Madara said with a smirk.

Naruto felt his eyes widen, and he glanced past the man to the gaping hole they had left in the side of the hospital building. Had Madara already killed her? Had he been too late?

He saw Minato standing in the hole, a three-pronged kunai in one hand with a growing Rasengan in the palm of the other. An expression of dark, sharp fury was etched onto his face as his eyes glowed with an icy fire, and Naruto had the fleeting thought that the man was unexpectedly, coldly vicious.

"I'll kill you." Naruto snarled, turning his attention back to the man in his grasp, tightening his hold on the man's clothing and twisting the kunai in his other hand. The two blades hissed against each other as Naruto turned it and plunged it deep into the man's shoulder. Madara sucked in a sharp breath and returned the attack. Naruto was unable to block it, turning his body in the limited range of motion he had and took the kunai attack in his ribs, feeling the blade plunge deep.

Naruto gasped, feeling the much needed air rush into his lungs before Madara's hand tightened its hold on his neck again. Naruto didn't let go of him as Minato's three-pronged kunai sailed through the air. Madara lurched as it lodged itself in his back. Naruto winced as the hand on his throat constricted painfully. A second later Minato appeared behind Madara with a flash of yellow light, the Rasengan already being pushed towards Madara's back. With they sudden closeness, Naruto could see flecks of cold throughout the icy blue of the Fourth's eyes.

Madara narrowed his eyes, the sharingan spinning dangerously as he twisted his body, pulling on Naruto to try to avoid the Fourth's attack. Naruto planted his feet, flaring what was left of his chakra and pulling sharply on the kunai imbedded in the man's shoulder, forcing Madara to take the Fourth's Rasengan directly in his back.

Naruto saw the flare of the Rasengan's attack from the corner of his eyes as he met the spinning tomoes of Madara's sharingan. The world around him melted like wax, the sky dripping onto the buildings and flowing to the ground, leaving behind a vast, unending horizon of blood red and swirling black clouds filled with dark lightning. Naruto sucked in a breath, staring around him at the illusionary world. The melted wax flowed to him, surrounding his feet and legs and crawling up his legs like many hands. Familiar faces and bodies formed from it, rising around him with angry looks and weapons in hand; his friends and team mates, and those of the village who he had befriended.

Naruto knew that it was an illusion. He knew that none of it was real and that it was all created by the torturous illusions of Madara's sharingan, but it felt real. Naruto couldn't move as the cold, waxy substance of the world wound around his limbs, holding him in place as the figures around him raised their weapons and blades to him. Naruto cringed and steeled himself as the blades stabbed towards him, the metal slicing through his body with a wet hiss. Naruto bit through his lip and cried out, throwing his head back as he screamed. The blades retreated, pulled from his body and Naruto felt himself sag in his bonds. He lifted his head enough to see the figures around him raise their blades again, the sharp edges of the swords and knives glinting in the eerie red light as they plunged towards him. The looks of hatred and disgust and cold indifference bit deeply into his heart as the faces of those he loved wielded weapons both physical and emotional.

Naruto gritted his teeth against the pain, trying not to scream as the scene replayed itself over and over again. He clenched his eyes shut to block out the faces of those he loved and those he called friends as they stabbed him. He tried to remind himself that it was all just an illusion, that it wasn't real. But it felt real, and he was struggling to endure the hours as he lost track of time and of reality.

The world melted again, swirling around and away from him like thick smoke, or oil on water. Naruto staggered as he took in the sight of the hospital before him. He sucked in a sharp breath, feeling like his throat was raw and torn. He looked around, noticing that he was crouched low to the ground, his hands still fisted in Madara's clothing. The man was heavy in his grasp, dead weight.

"Are you alright?" Minato asked, leaning over him. Naruto looked up at the man, then back to Madara, nodding slightly and feeling his balance tip at the motion.

"Yeah. I'm fine." Naruto said as the world tipped sideways. He blinked up at the sky, seeing Minato's face enter his narrowing field of vision. The man's mouth moved and Naruto heard sound, but couldn't understand the words. Slowly his vision blackened and he fell into unconsciousness.

oooOoooOoooOooo

Naruto woke to the soft sounds of the village and the afternoon light streaming onto his face. The room around him was silent and still, and he could hear the distant muffled sounds of the Konoha streets drifting though the window. It smelled like the hospital.

Naruto suddenly opened his eyes and looked at the white-washed ceiling above him. He was in the hospital. He would know that ceiling anywhere. He felt inward, looking for his chakra and found it simmering lowly within him, traversing under his skin and through his muscles steadily, if a little sluggishly. He looked deeper and found the emptiness that the fox's absence had left; like some dark, black hole in the back of his mind and soul. His chakra otherwise seemed unaffected by the Kyubi's absence, which comforted him somewhat, though he wondered what sort of changes he could expect. He sighed and squeezed his eyes shut, shifting his fingers on one hand to form a simple seal.

"Hakinkage." His whispered. His chakra swirled within him and settled into a swifter pattern and he opened his eyes again. He knew that his eyes were now a different color, no longer the bright blue of his birth. They now reflected the golden color of his hair, a testament to the activation of his bloodline limit. He took a deep breath, holding it for a moment as he felt the subtle shifts of the Kekkai Genkai (3) on his body. It would help him to heal a little faster.

Naruto glanced around and sat up. Or rather, he tried to. He got far enough to pull his shoulders off the bed before his muscles spasmed and he fell back to the sheets with a resounding, "Ow! Ow! Ow!"

He curled around himself, throwing an arm or two out in retaliation to his body's stiff pains. His shouts and motions drew the attention of the medics in the hallway, and two white-hooded medic-nin came through the door, startling Naruto at their sudden entrance. He jumped off the bed to face them despite the pain. The sheets tangled around his legs from his thrashing and he crashed to the floor with a thud.

Naruto heaved a deep sigh and watched the relatively harmless medic-nins from his sprawled, undignified position on the floor next to his bed.

"Ehhh." He groaned out. It had been a while since the opening of a door had startled him enough to send him sprawling to the ground tangled in his own bed sheets.

"Ow." He grumbled, pushing himself off his face. His body protested the motion, but it wasn't as painful as it had been when he first tried to move. There was nothing like a good dumping to the floor to do a recently healing body good.

"You shouldn't be out of bed." One of the medics chastised.

Naruto ignored the comment, allowing the man to help him to his feet and disentangle the rogue bed sheets from his legs. As soon as he was on his feet he pulled his arm back from the man and stood on his own, glancing around the room before settling on the one medic-nin still left in the room.

"What happened?" Naruto asked.

"You don't remember?" the medic-nin asked.

Naruto thought about that, recalling his recent memories of the battle against Madara, the subsequent time-travel and his short fight with Madara with Minato's help.

"Is he dead?" Naruto asked.

"Who?"

"Madara."

"I don't know who Madara is." The medic-nin said as he tried to fix the bedsheets. "The intruder though was killed by the Hokage, though I think you helped in that, yes?"

Naruto shrugged as he watched the medic straighten the bedding. "So he's dead, then."

"The Hokage took care of the body." The medic-nin said. "And he said that he wanted to talk to you when you woke up."

"How long have I been out of it?" Naruto asked, watching the medic retreat to stand between him and the door.

"Eight days."

"Eight!" Naruto looked around the room. That was unusual. "Where are my clothes?"

"They were thrown out." The medic-nin said, "They were beyond repair. What is left is there." He pointed to a small table near the bed. Naruto looked over the small pile of belongings before turning back to the other man with a slightly wild look.

"What am I supposed to wear if you threw away my clothes?"

The medic-nin looked at him sharply. "You can't leave yet! You just woke up!"

"Sure I can." Naruto said with a small grin, "I'm fine."

"You've been asleep for the past eight days! Do you have any idea how bad your wounds were?"

Naruto shrugged nonchalantly. "Don't remember." He said without bothering to hide that it was a lie. Truth was he wasn't sure. He was relatively unharmed when he woke up in the past, but his chakra levels were at the state of near exhaustion. Naruto remembered the kunai getting stabbed into his chest, and he remembered Madara trying to crush his throat, but he had no idea the side effects of Madara's sharingan-fueled illusions and torture. The Tsukuyomi (3) attack could be psychologically devastating, but otherwise he didn't know what damages it caused.

Naruto stood and stretched, feeling his muscles pull tightly at the action. He was sore and stiff, but he'd been worse. He looked over the table again. It held a handful of kunai and shurikan, his necklace, a couple sealed scrolls, a tool pouch and his sandals. His hitai-ate was sitting atop the pile. A folded stack of standard ninja dress – pants and shirt with a roll of tape – sat next to his personal affects.

Naruto heaved a sigh and plopped back on the bed, ruffling the sheets under him again. The medic-nin gave him a look, which Naruto ignored. He grabbed for his necklace, slipping the cord over his head, and following the motion with his hitai-ate. He wrapped the forehead protector around his head, feeling better with the comfortable weight of it above his eyes.

"Sir, you cannot leave yet." The medic-nin said, watching him with a frown.

"Course I can." Naruto quipped.

"The Hokage specifically requested that you not leave."

Naruto gave the man a look that clearly told the medic how much sanity Naruto thought the man had. The medic glowered down at him, crossing his arms over his chest. Naruto snarled silently at him, grabbing the tool pouch from the table and shoving the loose kunai and shuriken into its depths.

"The Hokage wants to speak with you." The medic-nin tried again as Naruto stood in order to pull on the pants over the shorts he wore. Not his normal color, but the dull navy would do until he could find something more suitable to his tastes.

"Yeah, yeah." Naruto said, grabbing the roll of bandages to wrap his feet and legs, tucking the hem of the pants into the top of the wraps. He slipped on his sandals, and tore off a short strip of the bandage-wrap, twisting it into a thin rope. He glowered back at the medic-nin, matching the man look for look as he pulled his hair into a tail behind his head, tying it with the strip of bandage. He felt the tips of the ponytail brush against his shoulder blades. He had no intention of remaining in the hospital as far as he could help it.

Naruto stretched again as he picked up the long sleeved shirt from the table, complete with the swirled marks on the sleeves and back. He felt better. His muscles weren't trying to seizure at his every movement, a further testament to his healing abilities despite the distinct lack of Kyubi. Naruto tied his hitai-ate around his head before turning towards the door only to find the medic-nin standing in his path.

"Oi!" Naruto said, "I'm outta here!"

The medic-nin moved his hands to his hips, looking down his nose at Naruto, though he wasn't much taller than the blonde. Naruto stuck his chin out and glared back up at him. Their staring contest was interrupted by the door opening again, the second medic-nin leading in a blonde Shinobi, both looking at the two in the room with interest. Naruto glanced at the two newcomers and returned his eyes to the medic-nin standing in front of him, before feeling his eyes widen and shoot back to the shinobi standing just inside the doorway.

Naruto stared at the other blonde, recognizing the man's face immediately. He had wondered if he had been dreaming. He was pretty sure he wasn't anymore. The Fourth Hokage looked back at him before motioning for the two medic-nin to leave. Naruto barely noticed as the door closed behind them.

"How are you feeling?" The Fourth asked as Naruto sunk back to sit on the bed.

"Never better." Naruto quipped, then smiled a bit sheepishly as the Fourth's eyebrow rose. "I'm fine."

Minato stood and watched him silently, and Naruto held his tongue under the scrutiny, watching the man in return. He hadn't really thought about it before, but he was now in the same room with his father. His father, alive and breathing and inspecting him with narrowed, calculating eyes.

"You have the Hakinkage." The Fourth said, and Naruto felt his eyes widen slightly in surprise. It was rare for anyone to recognize it. It had been generations since someone had been able to activate it. Kakashi had told Naruto that the Fourth had begun the process and would have likely activated the bloodline limit had he not died when he did. Naruto hadn't thought that the Fourth would recognize it. He hadn't thought about it at all, actually. He should have known better. Of course the Fourth would recognize the sign of the activated Kekkai Genkai from his own family.

"Yes." Naruto said. "I activated it a couple years ago. Kakashi-sensei told me about it and helped me to find a way to activate it. Or rather, he helped me to see if I even had the ability to do so."

Minato looked at him a moment longer before nodding, his features softening a bit at the motion. He dug into a pocket of his coat and pulled out a scrap of orange material, which he threw towards him. Naruto caught it, looking at it questioningly. It was a scarf, he saw; mostly orange with stripes of red and yellow at its ends.

"You should cover your face." Minato said. "You look far too much like me not to raise questions."

Naruto blinked and looked back at the face of his father. He supposed that they did look an awful lot alike. He hadn't really thought about it before. He had been told, but he hadn't ever considered it. Naruto nodded and stretched the scarf out in his hands. He wrapped it around his nose and chin, twisting it once as he pulled it back, and tied it in a knot behind his neck below his ponytail, letting the long ends of it stream down his back. He shifted it over his nose with his hand. It was a strange feeling to cover his face. He pictured Kakashi's mask and smiled.

"Good." Minato said, getting his attention again. "And you'll go by a codename."

"A codename?" Naruto asked, his voice only slightly muffled by the thin fabric over his face. Minato nodded.

"Yes. You will not tell anyone who you are or where you came from. You will especially not inform others of the time travel. If you think you ought to do so, you will ask for my permission first."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "I will insist on informing a couple people."

"Who?"

"The Third, Jiraiya and later on, Tsunade and Kakashi."

If the Fourth was surprised by his list he didn't show it, merely nodding once after a moment of thought. "That is acceptable. I would like to be present when you do so if it is possible."

Naruto shrugged. "Sure. Ah, why am I hiding my identity anyways?"

Minato looked at him a moment. "Because of the time difference for one. Because I have more enemies than is particularly healthy and most of them would mistake you for me, or would take you simply because they had a decent look-alike for a target. Because you are not on the Konoha ninja registry yet even though you wear a hitai-ate and are clearly a trained shinobi. And because while it's not common knowledge, it's no secret that Kushina is an Uzumaki and was going to name her son Naruto."

Naruto blinked and nodded, not really having anything to say in response to any of his reasons. They all made sense and Naruto didn't really mind hiding his face and going under a codename. It had a sneaky aspect that gratified the prankster in him. He had never had the need to hide his identity or sneak around really before. It usually ended up being a moot point anyways. He was just too recognizable. But now, here, no one knew him. Few even knew of him.

"From now on you are Kinatsu." The Fourth said. Naruto tilted his head slightly, thinking about the name.

"Kinatsu." Naruto said, trying it out. "I like it."

Minato nodded. "Your file will be placed under high security access, and any background or origins will be left out. This should keep you safe, and prevent the possibility of anyone getting a hold of the paperwork figuring out who you are. There will be enough speculation as it is."

"What do I tell people?"

Minato raised an eyebrow, smirking slightly. "Nothing."

Naruto blinked. "Ok." How was he supposed to tell people nothing? He was going to have to really watch his mouth. He wasn't used to that sort of exercise in restraint. He sighed. At least he had learned to control his emotions most of the time. He figured he would be able to extend that sort of control to his words as well.

"If it comes down to it, we'll put something together." Minato said.

"Alright."

"What is your rank?" Minato asked.

"Genin." Naruto said, "Officially. I've been taking A-class missions since I was thirteen, though. Well," Naruto chuckled and raised his hand to adjust the knot of his forehead protector. "Well, it's more like the missions end up as A-class, really."

"Genin?" Minato said.

Naruto shrugged. "Yeah, my first Chunin exam got interrupted with an invasion, and I never had the time or desire to try again. It didn't matter. My rank didn't stop Tsunade-obaasan (4) from giving me high ranked missions, or putting me on teams of Chunin or Jonin. Though, that might have had to do with the nature of the missions."

"Hmm." Minato said, "How so?"

"Most missions I took on were kind of personal, or were a direct result of someone coming after me, or I going after them."

Minato's eyebrow rose again and he shook his head. "I'm going to put you down as a Chunin, though I'll test your skills when your health is back up to par."

"Tomorrow." Naruto said. "I'm pretty much set now if I needed to be, but tomorrow will be about perfect. Gives me time to eat and all."

Minato looked amused, but nodded all the same. "Tomorrow then."

Naruto looked back up at his father, and sighed.

"What happened?" he asked, seeing a mixture of emotions flicker through the Fourth's eyes. Minato glanced out the window for a moment before looking back at him.

"The Uchiha is dead." He said. Naruto nodded, feeling relief at the confirmation. "It isn't officially known to the village that he was an Uchiha, but the rumor is strong enough to cause a stir. The Uchiha clan especially."

Naruto scowled slightly at the thought but didn't say anything. No doubt the elite Uchiha's were demanding the body to keep their precious sharingan to themselves. He wondered if the Fourth gave it to them, or if he disposed of Madara's body himself. Naruto wasn't sure which would be better. If the Uchiha clan knew Madara's face, then maybe one of them wouldn't trust him enough to accept teaching from him. He was too torn on the thought of the Uchiha clan anyways. Part of him wanted to save them from their future slaughter and a part of him hoped that they would be killed if just to get rid of that annoying bloodline limit. Naruto sighed and shook his head. It didn't matter, not yet.

"What about mo – Kushina?" he asked quietly. He remembered Madara's threat that he had been too late.

"Kushina is fine." Minato said, his voice thick with some emotion. "But – "

Naruto looked up at him a bit fearfully, curling his fingers into a fist to try to contain his emotions.

"She miscarried." Minato said softly.

Naruto felt his eyes widen, his body frozen at the words. "What?"

"The child was still-born." Minato said. "He didn't survive the attack. Kushina barely did. She only left the hospital two days ago."

Naruto couldn't speak. He could barely think. His eyes lost focus as he tried to process what he had been told. Kushina was still alive. Madara was dead. But the baby had died. Naruto's young, infant self had died in childbirth. He had died.

Naruto sucked in a shaky breath, looking down at his own body to make sure he was still there and alive. How was it possible that he as a baby had died, but he was still there? Naruto shook his head, pulling air into his lungs and forcing himself to breathe. He looked up at his father, his eyes wide. Minato looked torn between sorrow and concern and something else entirely that Naruto couldn't identify at all.

"He – I." Naruto shook his head again and opened his mouth to try to speak but nothing came out. He let his head fall to hang between his shoulders, staring at the floor between his feet. He felt Minato move to stand near him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Naruto shuddered at the contact then stilled, thankful for the man's support and presence as his mind whirled.

Madara had killed the unborn Uzumaki Naruto.

oooOoooOoooOooo

**Author's Note on the Japanese:** I'm translating most things into English if simply because I'm writing this for an English audience, but there will still be things that remain in Japanese. One of those is the titles/honorifics that are tacked on to the end of names (ie: Sakura-chan, Kakashi-sensai, etc.) because there really isn't a decent English equivalent and because I figure that most people reading this know what they mean anyways. If you don't know, let me know, and I'll tack them onto the end of a chapter or get rid of it entirely.

1)Jutsu – technique or art used by a ninja (typically utilize chakra, which is spiritual energy).

2)Hai – yes, yes sir!

2)Kekkai Genkai – bloodline limit, cannot be copied (like w/ the Sharingan)

3)Tsukuyomi – one of the Kaleidoscope (Mangekyou) Sharingan's attacks; illusion used for torture

4)Obaasan – grandmother (Naruto calls Tsunade this. I think he also uses Baa-san.)

Kinatsu is a combination of two names: Kin – 'golden', and Hatsu – 'first son'

Hakinkage is a combination of: Ha – 'leaf', Kin – 'gold', and Kage – 'shadow', thus, I'd translate it to be 'shadow of the golden leaf', but that's just me…


	2. OMOTEDATSU to be known

**Author's Note:** _Viridian_, thanks for the wonderful review. I'll be keeping all your points in mind, and I'll say this now: I will be trying to restrict Naruto from super-poweredness, as I think it just makes a boring story, among other things.

**Disclaimer:** Naruto and etc. aren't mine, but there is a growing collection of original characters that will undoubtedly make their appearances.

oooOoooOoooOooo

**Namikaze Brothers **Arc One : Magirekomu Bettenchi(to be lost in another world)

By Renatus

Chapter 02 – Omotedatsu (to be known)

oooOoooOoooOooo

_Two weeks after arrival_…

Naruto walked through the streets of Konoha, taking in the subtle changes that he could notice in the buildings and shops around him. It was largely the same. Konoha had a certain atmosphere to it that Naruto had always thought to be steady and unchangeable; a rhythm that seeped through the taped and bandaged structures of the hidden village. It was home, no matter the year or time.

Naruto pushed the red fabric of his coat aside and stuffed his hands into his pant pockets. The knee-length coat was a new addition to his wardrobe. It bore the swirled icon on the sleeves and back, and had a thick bar of black around its base. He had rolled its sleeves up past his elbows, baring the sleeves of the dull navy shirt he wore under the collar-less flak vest. Kushina had presented it to him, the red color different from what he normally wore, but he would never refuse her. She was his mother, even if she didn't yet know it. He treasured the gift.

Kushina had visited him at Minato's side, her face a bit strained and her movements slow, but her smile had been bright and real. Naruto knew that the past couple weeks had been hard for the two. They had lost a child. Even though Naruto was that same child from some now-impossible future, they had lost a child. Naruto had no idea how to relate, and so kept his distance, letting them come to him if they wanted to, no matter his on-again-off-again desire to get to know them. Naruto didn't know how to react to either of his parents anyways. Minato was easier, Naruto could see him as the Yondaime and half ignore the father role, but Naruto was generally left a bit confused the few times he had seen them so far.

Naruto approached a yellow apartment building and unlocked the door, making his way inside and up the two flights of stairs. He knew the building. Kakashi had lived in it during his time as his Sensei, though Naruto had yet to meet him in the past. Minato had informed him that Kakashi had joined ANBU some months ago and that it would be unlikely to run into him much. This had been said with both pride and a mischievous smirk that Naruto recognized immediately as the prequel to something devious and likely directed at whoever the smirk was pointed towards, which at the time had been Naruto. Naruto had yet to figure out what plot his father was forming against him.

Naruto unlocked and entered his apartment, bypassing the booby-trapped light switch by the door and shuffling into the small space. It was large enough to hold a kitchen area and a living room combined, though it left it feeling a little crowded. His bedroom and bathroom were off to the side through a door. Overall it was larger than the one he had used as a child, and a bit nicer. A monthly stipend pay from the Hokage would allow such a thing. Naruto was hoping he would be able to start missions relatively soon and take over his own expenses.

"Kinatsu-san." A voice floated over from the windows.

Naruto glanced in the direction out of the corner of his eyes, spotting the half-hidden form of a shinobi perched on the ledge outside the window. He was young, likely a Chunin serving in the Hokage's tower. He had seen him a couple times before but didn't know the man, though that wasn't unusual.

"Careful," Naruto said, pointing to the sealing tags along the edge of the window, "Don't set them off."

The shinobi's eyes widened slightly as he looked at the tags booby-trapping the window near his head. "Hai, Kinatsu-san. Thanks for telling me."

Naruto shrugged and turned to look at him fully, "Need something?"

"Uh, hai, Hokage-sama has requested your presence in his office." The man said.

Naruto nodded and the shinobi gave one last uneasy look at the tags near him before dropping out of the window to the street below. Naruto sighed and looked around his apartment before following, jumping out the window rather than making his way back down the stairs and through the doors. It was just easier to use the window, shock tags or not.

He scaled the outside of the Hokage tower and climbed through the glass doors of the balcony outside the Hokage's office. Minato was seated at his desk, with two others in the room with him. Naruto looked at the two in mild surprise, recognizing the Third seated in a chair to the side of the desk. Naruto glanced to the side, spotting Jiraiya leaning against the wall.

"You could use the door, you know." Minato said with a scowl.

Naruto grinned sheepishly at him, even though it was hidden by his scarf and entered the room. "Yeah, but the window is faster and you're kinda fun to antagonize."

Minato growled at him, which caused Naruto to stare at him for a minute before grinning widely. He had always thought his penchant for growling had been from the fox, but apparently it ran in the family a bit. Granted, Naruto's growls tended to sound distinctly feral and animalistic, while Minato still sounded perfectly human, but the habit was still the same.

Minato sighed and gestured to the other two men, both of whom were watching Naruto with open curiosity. Naruto eyed them in return, noticing the speculation and hesitation in their expressions. Naruto raised an eyebrow at his father.

"You told them?" he asked, watching the growing smile on Minato's face.

"Only what I knew." He said, "I've asked you here to fill in a few gaps."

Naruto nodded and reached up to pull the scarf off his nose, letting it pool around his neck. The two men inspected his face curiously. Naruto knew now, how much he looked like his father. Despite the faint whisker lines on his cheeks from the Kyubi's influence, it was rather unmistakable that the two were closely related.

"Release the Hakinkage." Minato said.

Naruto pulled in a breath and formed a seal with one hand at his side, feeling his chakra swirl and settle. He let out the breath he had been holding, feeling the subtle affects of the release of the bloodline limit. He knew that his eyes had returned to their summer-blue color; the same shade of blue as his father's eyes.

"You look a lot alike." Jiraiya commented. "What's with the eye color?"

"It's the mark of the Namikaze Kekkai Genkai." Minato said. "It doesn't affect the sight of the ninja, but the activation of the bloodline limit changes the eye color to gold."

"What does it do exactly?" the Jiraiya asked. "You've spoken of it, but never fully explained it to me."

"Kinatsu?" Minato said, turning to him. Naruto shrugged and nodded.

"The complete Hakinkage affects your strength, speed and stamina." Naruto said. "In combination it increases healing ability a little, but that's more of a side-effect, at least for me. Tsunade-baachan wasn't sure, but she thought that it might be specific to me cause of the fox; something about my chakra being able to increase my healing rate, and the Hakinkage increasing the flow of my chakra or something. Anyways, there are different levels of the activation that increase the affects as the level goes up. Of course, the higher the level activated, the more chakra it sucks up."

"It has been many decades since I have seen an activated Hakinkage." The Third said. "To what level have you awoken yours?"

"Just the first." Naruto said. "I have all three aspects of the bloodline limit and I can activate the first level. At the first level, it simply enhances my natural abilities something like thirty percent, or so Kakashi-sensei guessed. I'm not sure how much the increase will be at the next level. I'm working on the second level, but it's taking me a while, and I've been distracted from my training what with crazy missing-nin coming after me and all."

"Impressive." Minato said with a proud smile. Naruto grinned at him, pleased and slightly ecstatic to see the pride in his father's eyes. He didn't bother to reactive it, he had wanted it for the extra healing after his fights with Madara, but he didn't like to rely on it on a day-to-day basis. He didn't need to. And it really did put a drain on his chakra levels if it was activated for days on end. And he no longer had the Kyubi's seemingly endless chakra supply to feed his own. It was going to take him a while to get used to that.

"Alright, Kinatsu." Minato said, "Tell us."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at the three. Of all the ninjas he had come to know, these three were some of those he trusted the most. There were others, Tsunade, Kakashi, Sakura, Gaara, but Naruto trusted and looked up to these three. He had called one sensei for years, and had gone through his childhood relishing the attention of the Third all the while staring up at the visage of the Fourth and vowing to surpass him.

So he told them. Not a lot, but enough. Naruto skipped over his childhood and glossed over his days as a Genin, mentioning Sasuke and Orochimaru if simply because they stood out in his head so much. But Naruto focused his story on Akatsuki and more importantly, Uchiha Madara, the man who had jumped through time in order to get rid of him before he became such a nuisance to the organization.

They listened silently and didn't ask him a single question. Naruto wasn't sure what the men's silence meant, but he continued his half-halting tale anyways, finally settling into a sort of rhythm in the telling that was reminiscent of when he reported after completing a mission. He focused on the facts and left out most of the personal stuff of his life. By the time he was done, finishing with his suicidal, desperate ploy of pulling on Kyubi's sixth tail in order to face down Madara, Naruto was feeling a little exhausted. He hadn't had to tell the story in full, well, ever. Those around him usually knew most of it. He hadn't realized how tiring it would be to relate the story of the last few years of his life. And he had left out so much.

"That's quite a story." Minato said softly, his fingers crossed under his chin. Naruto sighed and sat himself on the floor in front of the desk cross-legged, leaning his head on his hand. Minato followed him with his eyes, one of his eyebrows raised in a sign of amusement that Naruto was fast becoming familiar with.

"You don't know the half of it." Naruto grumbled. And it was true.

"I'm sure I don't." the Fourth said.

"How old are you now?" the Third asked.

"Eh, eighteen." Naruto said.

"So the Kyubi is no longer sealed inside you?" Jiraiya asked.

Naruto shook his head. "I have no idea why, or what happened or how. Shit, I don't even know why I survived the damned fox's extraction if it was even that. Gaara sure hadn't. But the Kyubi is gone. Completely. The seal is dead, and a damned black hole has been left in my brain the size of the hokage mountain."

"It scarred you." Minato said a bit tightly.

Naruto sighed and nodded. "The seal is still there," he said, glancing down at his own stomach, "But it's barren – ah, inactive and there's no trace of the stupid fox in my system anywhere. Not even residual chakra floating around in some corner somewhere. I mean, I could have missed something, but I don't think so. It would have shown itself when I got so pissed off at Madara anyways."

"You had claws." Minato pointed out.

Naruto blinked and looked down at his hands. His nails were a bit more claw-like than normal for a human but they had been like that for years. Really, Naruto was a little surprised that there wasn't more physical markers of the Kyubi's presence on him.

"An interesting side-effect perhaps." The Third said. "It makes some sense, considering it has affected your physiology in other areas."

Naruto nodded. "I would get the slitted, red eyes and glowing chakra fox shroud deal, but only when I got too angry."

The three were silent for a while as Naruto stared at his hands and pondered his new, subtle physical changes. "Ne, did my eyes turn red?" he asked, looking back up to his father. "When I was fighting Madara?"

"No."

"Then I'm pretty sure the Kyubi is gone." Naruto said. "Maybe because he was sealed in me for eighteen years I got some physical side-effects. I've always had these," he said, pointing to his cheeks, "And over the years I developed some of the others, like my teeth and nails. But the fox isn't in me anymore. No fiery chakra, no bitchy fox spirit growling crudeness at the world, no endless pit of rage and fury burning in the back of my head. Gone." Naruto tilted his head to the side slightly, finally really thinking about the sudden absence of his life-long tenant. "It's… kinda strange, actually."

"Interesting." Jiraiya said. "I wouldn't mind taking a look at that seal sometime."

Naruto nodded. "Sure."

"Why did Orochimaru want Uchiha Sasuke so badly?" Minato asked, changing the subject a bit and throwing Naruto off guard.

"Huh?"

"Why Sasuke? Why not one of the other Uchihas?"

Naruto blinked at him before it hit him. Itachi hadn't killed the clan yet. "Because Sasuke was the last."

All three of their eyes widened a bit at that. "The last?" Minato asked.

"Itachi murdered the entire clan when Sasuke was a kid. He only left Sasuke alive. Itachi joined the Akatsuki. Sasuke killed him later, but they were both labeled as missing nins by that point." Naruto left out the bit about Sasuke taking his brother's place among the Akatsuki and attacking Konoha. Things were crazy enough without mentioning that. Actually, Naruto preferred not to talk about a lot of things that happened – or would happen.

"There was a twisted reason for it all that you probably don't really want to know." Naruto said. "Itachi's hands killed the clan, but he had help and he was – eh. Well, like I said, you probably really don't want to know."

The three gave him a variety of looks but Naruto refused to elaborate. He wasn't ready to tell them that Itachi had destroyed one of Konoha's greatest clans on the order of his own council, no matter the reason. Naruto thought about the Uchiha's, and wondered if he could – or even wanted to – change things. He would have to think about it.

Minato heaved a sigh, shaking his head slightly.

"I suppose you are stuck here, then." the Fourth said after a minute.

"Unless you know how to get me back." Naruto said, looking up at the man in a mixture of hope and fear. He wanted to get back to his friends, but he knew what awaited him. He wasn't sure he was ready to face those challenges yet. He wasn't strong enough yet, even with the Kyubi's sixth tail, he couldn't beat Madara, and he no longer had the Kyubi's power anymore. Only with the Fourth's speed and strength were they able to kill a severely weakened Uchiha Madara. And there was still one more out there with the Kyubi still under his control.

Minato shook his head. "My time and space techniques do not focus on such long range time manipulations."

Naruto sighed into his hand. "Alright." Trying to settle into the idea of his situation. He was in his own past and was stuck there, unless this time's Madara felt inclined to take him back, but Naruto kind of doubted that.

"What about Madara?" Naruto asked.

"What about him?" Jiraiya asked. "He's dead."

"The one from the future is." Naruto said. "This time's Madara is still out there and collecting the tailed beasts. He still has the Kyubi since it didn't finish its attack and get sealed."

Naruto quieted at that, remembering that his younger self had died, stillborn by Madara's attack on Kushina. Even if the Kyubi had continued its attack, the Kyubi would not have been sealed inside the baby body of Uzumaki Naruto. Things were different; already very different. Naruto wondered how much more things would change. He couldn't predict the future, he realized, even though he had lived it.

"Let me worry about Madara." The Fourth said. Naruto raised his eyebrows, but didn't question him. The Fourth was one of, if not _the_ – strongest shinobi of Konoha. Naruto knew that, and was comforted by it.

"Heh, alright." Naruto said, shifting his legs so that one was propped up for his chin to rest on. "Akatsuki should already be formed by now. Orochimaru will be joining it soon if he hasn't already."

"He already has." Jiraiya said. "Last year."

"I don't know how many of the tailed beasts they have yet, but they'll be collecting them for the next decade. They didn't go after Gaara until I was sixteen, and they never got their hands on me, however much they tried."

"Gaara?" the Third asked.

"Oh, yea." Naruto said, smiling a bit, "Gaara of the Sand. He's the youngest of the Kage's children in Sunagakure. He has the one-tailed Shukaku inside of him."

"Oh?" the Third said. "I knew Suna had the Shukaku, but not that the host had been changed."

Naruto shrugged.

"So, kiddo," Jiraiya said, a smirk growing on his face. "Got any more good stories to tell?"

Naruto grinned. "I've a few good ones about you, Ero-sennin, (1) but I don't think you would want me to tell them in front of your sensei and student."

Naruto smirked as Jiraiya's eyes flickered over to the other two men before narrowing on Naruto, a clear warning to watch what he said. Naruto chuckled. "Like your books. Have you started writing them yet? I never asked when the first one came out in print. Icha Icha, right, Ero-sennin!"

Jiraiya's eyes widened in surprise, telling Naruto that the man had at least started to write, even if he wasn't publishing the books yet. His smirk grew.

"How's your research coming along?" Naruto asked, his smirk nearly devious now.

"None of your business, brat." Jiraiya said, sniffing and looking away with crossed arms. Naruto laughed at the sight. He had missed the man severely over the years. It was good to pick on him again, to see the quick changes of emotion and attitude that reminded him so much of himself.

Minato cleared his throat, getting their attention. He was clearly amused, and if Naruto had to guess, likely knew what sort of research Jiraiya was up to.

"Kinatsu," Minato said, his face serious though his eyes were still amused. "I am sending you with Jiraiya. You'll leave in a week and I'm sending some mission scrolls along with for you to complete while you're gone."

"Eh? What for?" Naruto asked, getting to his feet.

"Jiraiya is keeping an eye on Orchimaru and Akatsuki." Minato said, "I want you to go with him because you are the only one who has dealt with them to any extent."

"And I'm going to train you." Jiraiya said.

"You already did that." Naruto grinned. "I get to do it again, huh? This should be fun. What are you going to teach me, Ero-sennin?"

"That depends on what you know."

Naruto tilted his head to the side, grinning at them, "I know the Rasengan."

He got the surprised look out of all three of them again, though Minato's was less pronounced.

"I've also added an elemental recomposition to it." Naruto said with a smirk, "And developed it into three separate advanced attacks."

"You – " Minato stopped, his eyes wide now, "You added an elemental recomposition to the Rasengan?"

Naruto nodded. "Yup. Kakashi-sensei helped me."

"He taught you the Rasengan?" Minato asked.

"No. Jiraiya did that when I was thirteen." Naruto said, pointing to the white-haired ninja. "Kakashi-sensei taught me about elemental recomposition and then I had to add the two together on my own."

Minato sighed and leaned back in his chair, chuckling lightly. "Naruto, son, you are full of surprises."

Naruto grinned widely at his father. "You want to see it?"

oooOoooOoooOooo

The next day Naruto made his way to the training grounds, looking around the familiar area. It was the same training ground he had been in when he had taken Kakashi's bell tests. It even still had the three posts stuck in the center of the clearing. It was nice to know that some things didn't change.

"Kinatsu!" Minato called from his position leaning on one of the posts.

"Heya!" Naruto called out in greeting, waving one hand as he jogged to join the small group waiting for him.

"Kinatsu, let me introduce you." Minato said with a smile, gesturing to the two three Chunin-dressed ninja beside him, "These are Saotome Tetsu, Shiranui Genma and Hatake Kakashi."

Naruto looked them over, trying not to stare at the younger Kakashi. Naruto didn't know Tetsu. She had her dark auburn hair pulled to the back of her head, her bangs fanned out around her face and half obstructing the leaf hitai-ate wrapped around her forehead. Her pants had been cut to shorts, and she wore guards over her shins and arms. Genma and Kakashi, Naruto had known before. They were both, like Tetsu, dressed in the standard Chunin outfit, though without the modifications. Genma had a senbon between his teeth and was grinning at him, while Kakashi watched him silently from behind his half-mask. Naruto rather thought that Kakashi didn't look much different. He even still had his hitai-ate covering one of his eyes.

"Guys," Minato said, "This is a friend of mine, Kinatsu."

"Hiya!" Naruto said, waving his hand at them again.

"Friend of the Hokage, eh?" Tetsu said, grinning at him.

"Hey, Tetsu." Genma said, "Try not to scare him off."

"Hey, hey!" Tetsu said, "What are you saying? That I'm scary?"

"Yes." Genma said with a smirk.

Tetsu growled at him, her fist clenched at her sides.

"You're not supposed to fight with each other, you know." Minato commented.

The two shot him looks and Naruto grinned.

"Hey! Why are they here?" Naruto asked, looking the three over with a critical eye.

"They are going to spar with you." Minato said, "So we can test your skills a bit more officially."

"Eh?" Naruto looked at them again. "These three?"

"Oy! What are you implying!" Tetsu said.

"I'm stronger than you are." Naruto said, crossing his arms over his chest and looking down his nose at her. He was taller, not by a lot, but still taller than her.

"I'll use you for a pin cushion, don't you think you being buddy-buddy to the Hokage will save your ass!"

"You'll have to catch me first, Tetsu-chan." Naruto said with a leering grin, "I'm pretty fast."

Tetsu cocked her fist and swung, Naruto ducked and dodged out of her immediate reach, though he needn't have bothered. Minato had caught her wrist before her fist would have reached him. Tetsu stood glaring at Naruto, not bothering to share her death-glare with the one holding her back.

Naruto stuck his tongue out at her.

"You're dead, carrot-top!" She ground out, a kunai in her free hand suddenly.

"Tetsu, calm down." Minato said. "Kinatsu, quit antagonizing her."

"Hmph." Naruto kept half an eye on the Kunoichi, not too sure about her. She seemed a bit bloodthirsty to him, though considerably less crazy about it than Anko had been.

"So why are they here, then?" Naruto asked, "Aren't they a bit young?"

"Kinatsu." Minato said sternly. Naruto shut his mouth and scowled but didn't say anything else.

"As I said," the Fourth continued, "They are here to spar against you."

Naruto looked the three over again but held his tongue.

Minato sighed. "You told me that you had not gained Chunin."

Naruto shrugged. "Yea, but I still took A-rank missions. So?"

"They may be younger than you," Minato said. "But they are Chunin, and Kakashi is a Jonin"

Naruto looked the three over, not bothering to say anything and trying to size them all up. He didn't know Tetsu, but she reminded him of Mitarashi Anko an awful lot. He only knew Genma in passing, but he knew Kakashi very well. Naruto sniffed and nodded a couple times.

"Yeah! I'll take them all on!" he announced, crossing his arms over his chest and nodded again at the Fourth. He caught sight of Kakashi's narrowed eye and the glower from the two Chunin.

Minato stared at him for a minute before laughing and shaking his head, still holding Tetsu's wrist as she tried to attack him again.

"You little pip-sqeak!' She hollered at him, "You bastard! I'll gut you myself!"

"Hey, Hey!" Naruto said, pointing at her, "Aren't ninja supposed to be able to control their emotions? What's up with you? And you're a Chunin!"

"Ahhh!" She yelled, and chucked the kunai in her hand at him. Naruto dodged it, glancing back as it struck the ground behind him, buried to the hilt.

"Tetsu!" Minato said, though he was still smiling. The girl stopped her struggling but she glared at Naruto, her eyes narrowed dangerously. Naruto watched her warily and kept his silence, having flashbacks to his Chunin exam, and the first time that Anko had thrown a kunai at him. He was wondering if the two were related.

Minato sighed. "Kinatsu, this is a team sparing match." He said, holding up a hand to forestall whatever Naruto was about to say. "You'll join Genma to make a two-man team against Tetsu and Kakashi."

"What?" Naruto said, looking at the three again.

"They're stronger than they may look." Minato said, raising his eyebrow at him in amusement.

"Eh, fine." Naruto said, narrowing his eyes at Kakashi. Kakashi simply looked at him blankly, his one uncovered eye watching him closely. Genma's face was more expressive, but it still didn't tell him much about the guy.

"Yes!" Naruto said, psyching himself up. It had been a while since he got the chance to spar with Kakashi, after all. "Let's go! Say start already!"

"You better watch yourself, shithead!" Tetsu said, grinning a bit manically at him, "You're mine!"

"Eh," Naruto waved his hand nonchalantly as he joined Genma to face off against the other two. Genma rolled the senbon in his mouth around, grinning at their opponents.

Tetsu growled at him, but didn't say anything. Naruto stood next to Genma and sized the two across from him up. Of all of them, Naruto was probably the eldest, though Genma had to be near his age. He thought it a bit odd that Kakashi and Tetsu, the obvious younger ones, were placed on a team together. Neither could have been more than fourteen or fifteen. Then again, Minato had said that Kakashi was already a Jonin.

"Don't use anything that'll seriously hurt anyone." Minato said to them. "This is simply meant to judge your levels, not kill each other."

"Ah, how am I supposed to show you what I can do then?" Naruto asked.

Minato gave him a look and Naruto grinned in response.

"You don't need to show off in order to prove that you can be a Chunin." Minato said. "Being a Chunin isn't about high powered jutsus (2)."

"Yeah, yeah." Naruto said. "Whatever. Can we start now?"

Minato sighed and nodded.

Naruto grinned and threw a few shuriken at the two. They dodged, Tetsu ducking under them and retaliating in kind. Naruto jumped over the low throw, and caught sight of a few more coming at his head in the air. Naruto's grin widened as he formed a familiar hand seal.

"Shadow Clone!" He said, and a clone appeared beside him, pulling him out of the shurikens' path.

"Hey" Minato's slightly exasperated voice floated over to him, "I didn't _say_ start yet."

Naruto ignored him, grinning as his clone landed first and Naruto used it as a springboard and launched himself straight at his two opponents, a kunai in his hand. Tetsu's eyes widened slightly at his attack, and dodged, swinging her leg around to connect solidly to his ribs as he passed over her. Naruto landed awkwardly, but charged at Kakashi, ignoring Tetsu's sprawled form on the ground behind him.

Kakashi had a kunai in his hand already. Naruto lunged and was blocked, their blades sparking as they connected. Kakashi aimed a kick for his gut and Naruto blocked it but was sent skidding backwards, giving the other boy time to pull a short sword from his back into his hands. Naruto eyed the blade, having been unaware that Kakashi used a ninjato.

Kakashi charged during his hesitation, and Naruto jumped over him, somersaulting over his head and aiming a kick to the boy's back. Kakashi dodged but took the kick in his shoulder, spinning him slightly at the force of it.

Naruto landed and struck under the boy's guard, a kunai clutched between his hands and aiming for the ribs. Kakashi's blade swept his kunai away from its aim, and tore it from Naruto's grip. Naruto cocked his fist and swung up at his chin, forcing the other boy backwards to avoid the upper cut.

A kunai sliced through the air between them, forcing them apart. Naruto jumped backwards and looked to the direction it had come from, spotting Tetsu smirking at him. He glanced beyond her and found Genma circling behind her, his eyes on Kakashi.

"I told you you were mine!" Tetsu said, pulling another kunai from her bag.

"Yeah, yeah." Naruto said, forming a cross hand seal. "Shadow Clone!" he called out, looking behind him to see his dozen clones, all shaking their fists and taunting the dark-haired girl.

"I'm all yours, Tetsu-chan!" Naruto called out brightly, grinning at her widely as the clones rushed at her. Tetsu's eyes widened slightly at the clones before narrowing as she fell into a ready stance, kunai in each hand. Naruto turned his attention back to Kakashi, but frowned as he found the other boy going against Genma, their weapons clanging against each other.

His clone's memories filtered into his brain and Naruto looked back at Tetsu, watching with some surprise as she dispatched the clones with a wild, deadly precision.

"Hey, hey!" he called towards her, standing far enough back to be able to dodge should she attack him. "You're pretty good!"

"You're dead!" she hollered back, gutting one of his clones viscously. Naruto winced as the clone's memory absorbed into his brain. She wasn't very nice with her killing thrusts.

"You'll have to find me first, Tetsu-chan!" he said cheerily, forming hands seals. "Multiple Shadow Clone!"

The army of Narutos grinned as the small clearing was nearly overwhelmed with a hundred clones. The others had all paused in their fighting, staring around them in shock at the small army. One of the clones, perched on top of the post that the Fourth was still leaning against, looking down at the man with a crooked grin.

"Hey, hey!" the Naruto clone said, waving at the man, "Why don't you come and join in? I don't think they can handle it without some help!"

Minato's eyes narrowed slightly at the clone before flipping a kunai up at it. The Naruto clone vanished in a puff of smoke, prompting a few of the others nearby to look at the man warily.

Naruto eyed his father for a minute, trying to decide if the man was going to join in the fray or not before shrugging and turning his attention to the fights. His clones were overwhelming Tetsu, though the girl certainly dispatched many of them. The scene was a bit funny to watch as the Naruto's hollered and yelled and taunted before disappearing in a puff of smoke from Tetsu's blades or foot.

Genma was scowling at the army, and had cut through a few of the clones himself in order to continue his duel with Kakashi, who now had a large shuriken twirling around his hand in a spinning blade that he aimed at any Naruto that got close enough. Naruto had the brief thought that this young version of Kakashi was reminding him an awful lot of Sasuke.

"Fire Release: Fire Ring Defense!" Tetsu's voice called out from the middle of the army. Naruto, from his relatively safe position behind the Fourth and the posts, watched as a ring of fire flared out from her and decimated a good portion of his clone army, leaving a dissipating cloud of smoke in its wake.

Tetsu stood at the center of the cleared space, glaring around her at the surprised clones in a manner that promised death and likely a lot of pain along with it.

The Naruto clones all glanced at each other before charging at her, shuriken in hand. The Narutos jumped into the air, all of them calling out in unison as they threw the blades at Tetsu.

"Shuriken from All Directions!"

Tetsu's eyes widened at the rain of throwing stars. The Shuriken struck her with dull thunks, and a log was revealed in her place, peppered with the weapons. The Naruto clones looked around for her, spreading out a bit to find her. Naruto found her just in time to see her hands flash through a set of seals.

"Lightning Release: Electric Bolt!" She called out from her crouched position on a tree branch. A bolt of lightning shot out from her hands, striking the nearest clone and branching out to hit more. The clones scattered, some of them having the mind to throw a kunai or shuriken at the girl in the tree before they were struck by the lightning attack and puffed out.

Tetsu followed her lightning with a strong kick to one of the clone's throat, and spinning to stab a second in the chest with a kunai. The Naruto clones recovered from the shock of her attack and began to retaliate, though Tetsu was dispatching them with a fierce ease, growling whenever one got close enough to land a hit on her.

After a minute the remaining clones gave the girl some space, watching her carefully. Tetsu was breathing a bit heavily, and scowling at the clones circling her. Naruto – the original Naruto – jumped up on top of one of the posts and looked at the devastation that Tetsu had wrought of his clone army. Naruto made a face in her direction. She had gotten rid of a lot of his clones, and he didn't have a lot left in the clearing. He glanced at the other two, finding that Kakashi and Genma had moved their weapons battle into the tree line, just out of his sight. The occasional flash of a jutsu lit up the trees.

Naruto grinned and returned his attention to Tetsu.

Naruto jumped off of his perch to join in the fun, saluting his father as he jumped over the other man's head. Minato followed his progress with his eyes, one of his eyebrows raised in amusement. Naruto landed, grinning as he formed hand seals and ran towards Tetsu. His clones saw him coming and moved around him, disguising his approach.

"Wind Release: Wild Wind Attack!" Naruto said, throwing his hands at Tetsu as he broke through his circle of clones. Tetsu spun at his voice, her eyes narrowed as she threw a kunai at him. Naruto stopped and grinned as his jutsu flew at her, barely visible.

The wind spun wildly, almost out of control, pulling the kunai off its course and flinging it through the air. The wind attack continued towards Tetsu, who dodged out of its way to the side. She didn't dodge quite far enough though, as the edges of the wind whipped at her clothes and hair, picking up dirt and grass and leaves and spinning them through the air in a wild dance. Some of clones got caught in its path, popping out as the wind reached them and pummeled the debris it had picked up at them.

Naruto watched as the attack died down and Tetsu pushed her self to her feet. He hadn't put a lot of chakra into it, and tried to generally dull it down. The first time he had used the attack he had leveled the area in front of him, leaving a wildly decimated small forest in ruins. Well, he had been a bit desperate and highly frustrated at the time.

Naruto watched as Tetsu regained her footing, looking a bit hassled. She glared at him, her eyes narrowed to slits and her fist clenched at her sides. Naruto watched her back, well aware that she was putting up a nice little fight.

A crash and yell interrupted their stand off, and Naruto looked behind him to see Genma fly through the tree branches and skid to a crouched stop in the clearing. He had gained a gash across the top of his arm. Kakashi followed him into the clearing, his sword poised to stab along the length of his chest. Naruto watched them clash again, their weapons sparking before they jumped backwards from each other. They both looked a little out of breath, though Kakashi was hiding it a little better. Naruto wondered why he didn't have his sharingan uncovered.

Naruto waved at some of the clones around him, and they grinned as they raced off to annoy the two boys still fighting. Naruto turned his own grin back to the girl and threw a shuriken at the ground in front of her feet to catch her attention again.

"You're starting to piss me off, bastard!" she growled, waving a fist at him.

"Hey, hey!" Naruto said, "It took you this long?"

Tetsu growled at him wordlessly. Naruto grinned.

"Your teammate is getting beat." Naruto said, pointing over his shoulder at the other two boys and ignoring the fact that Genma was obviously starting to struggle against Kakashi. "It's just you and me, now."

"Heh. You're easy." Tetsu said, pulling a kunai from her belt pouch and settling into a ready stance. Naruto put his hands up behind his head, chuckling as his few clones nearby imitated his pose.

Tetsu charged at him, and Naruto jumped out of her way, pulling a kunai from his bag. Tetsu changed directions quickly and stabbed at him. Naruto blocked her blade, but took her sudden sweeping strike full on. Her foot crashed into his chest, sending him flying backwards. He rolled once and skidded to stop crouched on one knee.

Tetsu followed after him closely, throwing shuriken at him. Naruto jumped over them and struck out with a quick double kick, flipping over as his second foot connected with her forearm. He landed and dodged in under her guard, digging his fist into her gut. She coughed and spluttered, bending over as she tried to catch her breath. Naruto took the opportunity to grab one of her wrists and twist it around behind her back and pushed her down to the ground. Naruto planted one of his feet on her back, and held her still as she struggled under his foot.

"Ahh!" She growled, "I'll kill you!"

"Ah, Tetsu-chan!" Naruto said with a wide grin, "You're – " Naruto's eyes widened as Tetsu's body disappeared in a cloud and was replaced with a log. He jumped back from it and spun around, looking for where she disappeared to again. Her displacement techniques were a bit annoying.

A sharp edge touched his neck and Naruto stilled, feeling her closeness to his back.

"You little bastard." Tetsu said in his ear, "You're not that good."

"Heh, heh." Naruto said, holding his hands up in surrender, "Good one, Tetsu-chan."

Naruto felt the kunai's edge press closer to his neck and he smirked.

"But not good enough." He said and disappeared in a cloud, leaving Tetsu to swear at the dispersed clone.

"Where are you, you little shit?" she snarled, looking around her.

"Here." Naruto said, "Earth Release: Suicide Decapitation!"

Tetsu's eyes widened as her ankle was grabbed and she was pulled down into the ground suddenly. The rock and dirt closed in around her, pinning her limbs uselessly and leaving only her head above the ground. Naruto grinned brightly at her, crouched in front of her head.

"Ah, Tetsu-chan!" he said, "You almost got me there."

"I'll gut you!" she snarled at him. Naruto chuckled and rubbed his hand through his hair. She was a little intense, really. Naruto looked around and found Kakashi holding his sword to Genma's neck with the other boy sprawled on the ground below him.

"Hey!" Naruto called to his father, who was still in his spot against the posts. "It's your turn!"

Minato raised one eyebrow at him but didn't move. Naruto jumped to his feet, dispersing the few clones left and waved at the other blonde. "Hey, hey! Are you gonna get out here and do something or not?"

Minato shook his head. "Alright, nice job guys."

Naruto grinned and walked away from Tetsu, who glared after him, still stuck in the ground. Kakashi and Genma joined Minato at the posts.

"Hey you little bastard!" Tetsu called after him, "Let me out of here!"

Naruto didn't bother to look back at her and just waved his arm over his head.

"Hey, kiroii-ani (3)!" Naruto called, catching Minato's attention. "You too old to fight anymore or what?"

Minato watched him for a moment and Naruto smirked at him from his spot halfway between him and Tetsu. Naruto had a kunai in his hand and was twirling it around his finger, trying to goad the Fourth into displaying some of his skill. Naruto was hoping to be able to let loose some more of his skills than he could against the others. He wasn't always used to holding his strength back. He was used to going up against strong opponents that he had struggled against a bit. Sparing with a group of teenagers, while entertaining, wasn't what he was used to. Sparring with the Fourth Hokage could prove a great challenge.

Naruto grinned widely at him. "C'mon old man!" he called again.

Minato smiled and Naruto blinked at the growing smirk on the other man's face. _'Uh oh,'_ he thought, _'This might be difficult.'_ Naruto wondered about his brain's slowness in recognizing that fact. The Fourth was heralded as one of the best ninja of Konoha and Naruto had just challenged the man. Naruto remembered the few times he did the same thing to Jiraiya, only to get a good thump on his head for his trouble.

"Very well." Minato said slowly, reaching his hand into the tool pouch on his belt. Minato threw a kunai into the air, its arch on a loose path to land somewhere near where Naruto stood. Naruto watched it in the air for a second, noticing the odd, three-pronged blade.

"Kunai Shadow Clone." Minato said calmly. Naruto's eyes widened as the single, three-pronged kunai multiplied into a hundred in the air. Naruto dodged the incoming rain a bit frantically, though none of them actually struck him.

Naruto glanced around at the clearing littered with the kunai and then looked back to his father. Minato still stood leaning against the post, smirking at him deviously. Naruto watched him a bit warily, not sure what the kunai rain had been for.

Minato suddenly vanished and Naruto took a step backward, just in time to feel a blow connect with the side of his head and send him flying across the field in the growing black of unconsciousness.

Naruto woke to a bright light in front of his eyes and a headache. "Eh, what happened?"

"You got a first hand display of why the Hokage is called the Yellow Flash, little bastard."

Naruto cracked one eye open to see Tetsu leaning over him, her face cracked in a grin. Naruto groaned. "Ow."

He heard laughter around him and he finally managed to sit upright and take in the group. Genma was kneeling next to him, with Kakashi nearby. Minato was standing behind them with a small, satisfied smirk on his face. Naruto snarled silently at him.

"You better teach me that jutsu, _Kiroii-ani_," Naruto said, waving a fist at him, "Or you'll regret it."

"He just leveled you in one strike, and you're threatening him?" Genma asked. "You're crazier than I thought."

Naruto crossed his arms over his chest and scowled at his father. "He got a lucky hit."

"Lucky hit my ass." Tetsu said straightening up. "He's not Hokage for nothing."

oooOoooOoooOooo

**Author's Note:** Lala… here's the Japanese:

1)Ero-sennin – perverted hermit (this is what Naruto steadily calls Jiraiya)

2)Jutsu – technique or art used by a ninja (typically utilize chakra, which is spiritual energy).

3)Kiroii-ani - kiroii means 'yellow' and ani means 'older brother' (ani is a less formal/honorable term than aniki/nii-san). Kiroii-ani is meant to be a throw off of Minato's nickname as the Yellow Flash, as Naruto just isn't all that into using honorifics unless they're slightly derogatory. I figure calling the Yondaime 'yellow-brother' fits into his usual pattern.

Saotome Tetsu is an original character.

**A/N:** Hmm. This little spar really doesn't showcase what Naruto is actually capable of now at eighteen… but that's ok. He'll get the chance to show off later… Besides, he just got decked by the _Yondaime_, he's a bit busy with a headache at the moment…


	3. TANSHIN away from home

**Author's Note: **So I just read Naruto manga 428, and I must say, _Go Konohamaru!_ Hot damn. I knew I liked that kid.

**Disclaimer:** Naruto and etc. aren't mine, but there is a growing collection of original characters that will undoubtedly make their appearances.

oooOoooOoooOooo

**Namikaze Brothers **Arc One : Magirekomu Bettenchi(to be lost in another world)

By Renatus

Chapter 03 – Tanshin (away from home)

oooOoooOoooOooo

_Three and a half weeks after arrival…_

Naruto was in his apartment, hunched over his kitchen table with scrolls and slips of parchment laid out before him when his stomach's growling interrupted his task. He ignored his stomach as his hand painted the last of the characters for the explosive tag, the thin brush scratching across the surface of the thin slip of paper. He finished the seal and leaned back, tracing the characters with his eyes carefully to make sure he hadn't made a mistake. Even with the simple seal characters of an explosive tag a careless mistake could cause a world of hurt. He had learned that lesson the hard way.

Naruto laid the brush down by the inkwells and placed the newly created tag on the pile of complete tags nearby. It was a good start for a collection, and if he had the time, he could create enough of them to sell a few bundles, since he was yet to be cleared for active missions. While the Fourth was willing to put him on active duty, the council members apparently were being the same stick-up-the-ass bastards that they always were. They hadn't liked him much on the one, brief occasion that he had the displeasure of meeting them all again. His appearance from out of nowhere did not help his case, and his blunt way of speaking just ticked them off, and he had happily done so. The scarf around his face didn't help his case either.

Their continued stubbornness had put off his planned mission with Jiraiya by two weeks already, so the toad hermit had left three days ago without him. Information on Akatsuki's movements and his spy network was more important than getting Naruto out of the village. Naruto knew and fully accepted it, but it didn't make him any happier about being left behind.

He scowled and got to his feet, leaving his seal materials scattered across the table, and plotting through a variety of humiliating pranks that he could play on the council. He hated being grounded to inactive status. It had happened on more than one occasion since he made Genin, and it chaffed every time. The council never did trust him – or like him.

'_The only thing worse is being trailed by an ANBU squad that doesn't think I know they're there.'_ He thought darkly.

His stomach rumbled again and Naruto moved towards the door, deciding that he wanted Ichiraku's ramen, and it had been far too long since he had been to the miracle of a food stand. He hadn't yet visited it since his impromptu arrival in the past and his mouth was watering at the mere thought. He strapped on his sandals and pushed his scarf over his nose and left the apartment, locking his door behind him.

With thoughts of a good meal of ramen soothing his irritation at being caged within the village, Naruto made his way down the hallway, bypassing a neighbor and her daughter who looked vaguely familiar. Neither of them gave him more than a glance as they passed, engrossed in their own conversation.

Naruto paused after he had passed them and looked back, recognizing the older woman, but not the teenage daughter. They had stopped outside of a door two down from his own, their conversation floating down the hallway. He watched them for a minute, trying to figure out where he had seen the woman before. The daughter – perhaps fourteen or fifteen – was dressed in a new Chunin vest, talking excitedly about a C-ranked mission she had just returned from. Her story alternated between barely contained pride at a job well done, and complaining darkly about one of her teammates. Her mother smiled at her story and scowled at her complaints and Naruto suddenly recognized her.

He sucked in a breath and turned away, walking down the stairs and out of the apartment building as his mind swirled with old memories. He remembered the woman as being one of the villagers who had always greeted him with nothing more than a distant scowl, darkness in their eyes and hatred lacing their scents. He didn't know her name and she had never spoken to him nor come close to touching him, but he knew her face, and he knew that she had lost a daughter during the attack of the Kyubi – a newly crowned Chunin who had been one of the many teams and ninjas to attempt to battle against the destruction that was the nine-tailed fox. He didn't know if the girl had died while trying to directly fight the fox or if she had been one of the many victims of the destruction that waved over the forest and edges of the village from the fox's long-range attacks. He thought the latter, but it wasn't like the woman would have told him anyways.

Naruto paused on the street outside the apartment and glanced back up at the four-story building. He was somewhat torn with his feelings. On one hand he resented the woman for her dark looks and severe indifference to him as a child, but another part of him was glad for her, happy that her daughter was still alive and well. He wondered how many others were still alive who had died the first time and he wondered how much those lives would change the future.

He sighed and turned away, making his way down the street towards the general direction of his favorite ramen stand.

The young, new Chunin was not the only change and difference that he had noticed. It was the little things that got to him, really. The village was Konoha, yet not. There were things that he would suddenly notice that just seemed off or wrong to what he expected and they threw him off every time. The different location for the Ninja Academy, the absence of Iruka-sensei within the Academy once he found it. He hadn't realized how much he had expected to see Iruka-sensai in his classroom until he wasn't there. The plethora of Uchiha, which was one of the odder things, seeing so many of the clan wandering the streets with a range of scowls and severe looks on their faces. Then there was the semi-recognizable faces that just looked too young, too different; people he had met and knew somehow before, but they no longer knew him, or looked at him in different ways.

Naruto stopped in front of Ichiraku's, absently taking in the sight of the place before blinking rapidly and staring at the stall in front of him. A wrinkled, frail looking old woman sat hunched over in the back of the stall, a needle in her hand as she slowly but surly stitched at the material in her lap. Naruto looked around him, wondering if he had somehow managed to go to the wrong location, but the establishments on either side of him were what they were supposed to be. He looked back at the seamstress and her little stall filled with cloth and thread and needles and stared.

_'Where's Ichiraku's?'_

He watched the old lady, not really seeing her as his mind floundered. This was the right location, it was the right street, the dango shop was to the left and the old man's convenient store was behind him, and he could just make out the top of the Hokage Tower over the corner of the stall's roof and the angle was just right as to block out the lower half of the Third's face carved into the mountain from view – just as it was supposed to – but there was no Ichiraku's Ramen.

Naruto sucked in a deep breath and looked down the length of the street, still not really seeing anything in front of him. His emotions swirled and his chakra spiked for a moment and he heard the seamstress gasp. He glanced back at her and saw that she had poked her finger with her needle. Naruto stared at her from his increasingly slouched posture, barely blinking, and trying to will his favorite place to eat back into existence.

_'How can there not be Ichiraku's?'_ He thought, _'Where'd it go?'_

He let out a low keening noise in his throat and with one last look at the confused and slightly nervous seamstress he wandered off back down the road listlessly. His eyes jumped back and forth, wondering if the missing ramen stand had set itself up somewhere else, but he didn't find the familiar red flags and enticing smells of Ichiraku's. Not along that street, nor any of the others he paced down throughout the following two hours. Finally giving it up he let his feet carry him where they wanted, bemoaning the loss of ramen and thinking that of all the things that he had found to be different, the missing Ichiraku's Ramen Stand was by far the worst.

oooOoooOoooOooo

The Third found him slouched in his favorite thinking space, hidden among the spikes of the Fourth's hair atop the Hokage Mountain. It was one of the few of his spots that were still around, and arguably the best of the lot. It was quiet save for the birds in the trees behind him, and rarely did another person pass nearby. He was hidden from view, and left alone to think without interruption. The best part, Naruto found, was that the village stretched out below him looked like he thought it should.

Naruto sighed and slouched lower among the rocky spikes of hair, fighting off depression and righteous indignation. He had wandered the streets for most of the afternoon, backtracking and pacing as he looked for the familiar ramen stand that he had visited at least three times a week, usually seven – sometimes more than once a day since he had been five.

Konoha just wasn't Konoha as it should be without Ichiraku's. His stomach rumbled at the thought of the missing ramen stand and he scowled, caught up somewhere between annoyance, depression and homesickness. And he had barely been in the past for three weeks yet.

"That's quite a face."

Naruto's scowl deepened as he turned his head to look at the other man, disgruntled at being found. The Third stood just off the carved part of the monument, lined up to about the only space that could see Naruto's position among the spikes from the backside of the mountain. Naruto gave him a small smile.

"Hey old man, what do you want?" Naruto said, his voice neutral and slightly teasing.

The Third frowned but made his way forward anyways. Naruto watched him, thinking that it was strange to see the man without the Hokage's robes and hat. It was the only outfit that Naruto ever really remembered seeing him in growing up. Sarutobi wore clothing that resembled that of the elder council members, but he stood strong and was clearly a well-trained Shinobi. Naruto could see the solid footing, the easy glide of his movements, the way his eyes took in everything around him, cataloging. There was no doubt that the old man, despite his age and dress, was every bit the incredible ninja of his reputation. Naruto thought it a little odd that he didn't seem quite as old or frail as Naruto remembered him to be. By the time he had made Genin the Third had simply appeared to be a strong shinobi clearly past his prime; old strength had lingered beneath the surface, but it had felt almost stale in comparison to other active ninja. The Sarutobi in front of him now did not have that stale feeling of strength. The man was still clearly a dangerously strong man. Naruto wondered if the change had been gradual or sudden in the first timeline.

"Not many have the audacity sit on top of the heads of the Hokage's." the Third commented with some amusement.

Naruto looked up at him and snorted, turning back to look out over the village. "That's why it's such a good spot. Nobody would think to come to look here. Besides, there's no law that says I can't be up here."

"No, there isn't." Sarutobi said, crouching down to sit next to him. "It is one of those unspoken rules, I suppose."

Naruto made a disgruntled noise in his throat but didn't voice his thoughts on the matter. He had never cared for many of the laws and rules that had been flung at him. He listened to them only long enough to know that they existed for him to break them. It was always more fun to break a rule when he knew he was doing it, however he had learned about most of the village's many unspoken rules by breaking them unknowingly.

"How are you doing, Kinatsu?" the Third asked. Naruto glanced over at him, taking in the benign look of concern on the man's face. He remembered the many times that he had found comfort in the old man's presence as a child, happy and content to have some attention that wasn't hateful or full of scorn. The Third had always been around to give him a kind word or touch, usually just when Naruto needed it the most.

"I'm alright." Naruto said, looking back to the village. He sighed, "It's different. Harder than I thought it'd be I guess, not that I really thought about it."

"Ah." Sarutobi pulled out his pipe and lit it. Naruto watched absently, comforted by the familiar scent of the tobacco and smoke that wafted around their heads and slowly faded into the wind. Naruto leaned back against one of the rocky spikes of hair and pulled the scarf from his face, letting it pool around his neck. He was more used to its presence, but it still somewhat bothered him. He was very much not used to hiding his face. He had never done so before, even though he knew the whisker scars on his cheeks marked him for what he was to so many. He flaunted them, even when he didn't know what they meant, because he craved the attention – no matter what sort it was and because it was one of the few ways he could show the village that he wasn't scared of them.

"What bothers you, Kinatsu-kun?" the Third asked, his voice soft next to him. Naruto sighed, being reminded of how observant the old man was of people's moods.

"You always knew when I was down." Naruto said, a small smile playing on his lips.

"Oh?"

Naruto nodded. "Even though I smiled and laughed and joked, you still knew."

"Hmm." Sarutobi puffed a thick ring of smoke over them. "And did I usually figure out the reasons?"

"No." Naruto smirked at him. "Not always. At least I didn't always voice it, but I think you figured things out on your own just fine most of the time."

The Third gave him a pointed, if comforting look before turning his eyes to gaze out over the village. Naruto smiled and followed his gaze, settled into the silence and comfort of the man's presence. They were quiet for a while, both watching the comings and goings of the villagers below them. Shinobi leapt from rooftop to rooftop, civilians wandered the streets. Naruto spotted a youth attempt to wall climb with chakra, only to crash down to the alley, much to his companion's clear amusement. A normal day in Konoha. Yet Naruto still felt the subtle, barely-there differences that marked this Konoha as not _his_ Konoha.

"It's just not the same." Naruto said.

"What isn't?"

"Konoha."

"Ah. No, I suppose it wouldn't be."

Naruto scowled down at the village, sorting through his emotions and feelings, trying to pinpoint why he felt so lost and confused. Part of it was the village, he knew, but the rest of it was something else and he had no idea how to address it.

"It's…" Naruto started, paused and sighed heavily. "It's Kushina." He said, pulling one knee up to rest his chin on. He scowled, "It's not that I don't… I mean she… ah hell. I don't know." Naruto sucked in a deep breath and buried the lower half of his face in the crook of his elbow over his knee.

"She's your mother." Sarutobi said.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. But she doesn't even know."

"Yes, but she has just recently lost her first born to a violent attack. She's a ninja, a very good one, yet even shinobi struggle with the loss of a loved one, especially of a child."

Naruto nodded again. "But it's not just that the baby – that I – agh. It's not just that he died, it's – I don't even know!"

The Third puffed on his pipe in silence, looking at the blonde next to him with an unreadable expression. Naruto scowled down at the village, trying to sort out exactly what he was feeling so depressed and confused about. It wasn't just homesickness. It wasn't just the differences, the whole being in the past fiasco – though it certainly didn't help his turbulent moods. Whatever his discomfort was it stemmed around Kushina and to a slightly lesser extent, Minato. Naruto stubbornly ignored whatever feelings he had about his missing Kyubi, stuffing them down deep below his emotions about his parents and the timetravel and being stuck in his situation. He didn't want to address the hole that the Kyubi's absence left in him just yet.

"I think it's because they're my parents." Naruto said softly. He let out a long, low breath. "I've never had them before."

"Ah." Sarutobi shifted next to him. "I see."

Naruto glanced at him, a little exasperated. "Well could you clue me in? Cause I'm _not_ seeing anything. I don't get it."

Sarutobi chukled. "Tell me, Kinatsu, was there one who filled the roll of a parent for you when you were a child?"

Naruto blinked. "Uh, I guess… Iruka-sensei maybe. But he was more like an older brother, really. I would say Jiraiya but that's just a little wrong. He's too perverted to be a father."

Sarutobi laughed, and Naruto smiled at the sound. A minute later Naruto sobered. "I guess the answer would be 'no' then."

"Minato and Kushina do not have children."

Naruto blinked, a bit confused at the statement. He felt a momentary flash of irritation considering that they would have a child if not for Madara, but forced it aside. He knew that the old man wasn't trying to be mean, and was only trying to get Naruto to think along some other line of reasoning. Naruto, however, didn't have a clue as to what that was.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, squinting at the man beside him.

Sarutobi smiled a bit. "They do not know how to be parents, Kinatsu, just as you do not know how to be a son."

Naruto blinked, blinked again and sat up straighter as his words sunk in. _'Well that might explain it.'_ Naruto and Minato both knew of their real relationship to each other, and despite the joy of that, neither of them really knew how to act when together. Naruto found it easier to ignore the fact that the man was his father and just concentrate on him being the Yondaime Hokage, his superior, village leader and occasional sparring partner. During the few times that Naruto couldn't shake the 'father' aspect of their relationship out of his head he found himself feeling a bit awkward and nervous – rare emotions if he ever had any – and falling behind one of his many masks while he edged away from the other blonde, looking for distance in order to settle his emotions. Naruto wasn't usually one to avoid an issue, but he was simply at a complete loss for how to handle his relationship with Namikaze Minato. He didn't even want to get started on his turbulent reactions to Kushina. It was easier to avoid her.

Naruto let out a breath and rested his head back against the rock. "So – now what?"

Sarutobi made a noncommittal noise and sucked at his pipe. "That is up to you."

"How do I act around them?" And that was the real question. Naruto could handle the subtle differences of the village. He could handle the strangely young familiar faces that no longer recognized him, he could even handle – with much work and disgruntled swearing – the lack of Ichiraku's Ramen, but he had no idea how to handle having parents. He had never had anyone to serve as anything even similar to him. The closest anyone had ever come was Iruka who was more of a brother, or Jiraiya who was by far more like a perverted old godfather more interested in peeping than fathering. Naruto supposed that Kakashi as his sensei could count as someone close, but Kakashi was – well that just didn't fit either.

Sarutobi laid a hand on his arm and Naruto looked over at him.

"Just be yourself, Naruto." The Third said, "The rest will fall into place on its own."

Naruto stared at him for a minute and smiled. "Yeah." He said, turning back to look at the village. "Thanks, old man."

"Any time, any time."

Naruto grinned, finding endless amusement in the turn of phrase. Sarutobi chuckled next to him as they lapsed into a comfortable companionship. Naruto felt better, even though he was still craving ramen, and he was pretty sure that he would still crane his neck around corners looking for old friends every time he thought he heard an almost familiar voice. He would always miss _his_ Konoha, but he also knew that the Konoha below him was still Konoha, even if it was different in minute ways that he couldn't always pinpoint. But for all the differences and the loss and the surreal feelings, Naruto recognized the potential that his situation gave to him. He could make things better for his future friends, and give them lives that were better than they had been the first time around.

oooOoooOoooOooo

Naruto was wandering towards the training fields, intent on working on figuring out the limits of his endurance without the Kyubi when he was waylaid. He smelled them first, a vaguely recognizable scent that told him they were of Konoha, but before he could identify them further a kunai shot out of the trees to his feet. He jumped backwards as the kunai struck the ground, sinking deep into the earth. Naruto eyed it for a moment and followed its trajectory back into the trees.

Three ninja stood across from him and he recognized two of them – Genma, who was leaning against a tree and Tetsu who stood in the branches above him. He didn't know the third, a young boy with dark hair and eyes and a cool face who stood half in the shadows of the woods. He was dressed in the usual Chunin uniform minus the vest, which had been replaced with a short-sleeved, wide collared navy shirt. He couldn't have been older than eleven or twelve. He looked a lot like Sasuke had as a child. Naruto rather thought that the three of them made for an odd team. There was a wide range of ages and seemingly personalities between them. He wondered who the kid was.

"Hey, shithead!" Tetsu called, twirling a second kunai around her finger.

"Ah, Tetsu-chan!" Naruto said with a wide grin, which could be seen despite the scarf wrapped over his face. "Did you miss me?"

"You little twerp. Quite calling me that!" she growled.

Naruto just smiled wider and waved at them, not bothering to tell her again that he was actually older and bigger than she was. It didn't seem to matter to her.

"Ossu (1), Genma." Naruto said.

"Kinatsu," Genma smiled, "If you aren't careful, she's going to gut you or something."

Naruto shrugged, ignoring the slight roll of malice coming off the younger girl, and nodded towards the boy standing in the speckled shade of the trees. "Who's the gaki (2)?"

Genma glanced behind him at the Uchiha-look-alike. The kid frowned at being called a brat, but didn't respond otherwise.

"He's our new teammate." Genma said. "Uchiha Shisui."

"An Uchiha, huh?" Naruto said, studying the boy. He could definitely see the resemblance to both of the Uchihas he had known, but Shisui also looked a bit different. His hair wasn't as dark a black, having lighter almost reddish highlights in the sunlight, and he was taller than Sasuke had been. Shisui had longer limbs and it looked like he would be a gangly teen. Naruto guessed that he would be taller than both Sasuke or Itachi had ever been.

"Heard of them have you?" Tetsu said.

Naruto nodded and pulled his eyes away from the boy to wink at the girl in the tree. "Who hasn't?"

Tetsu snarled silently at him and gripped the kunai she had been twirling in her hand. Naruto only kept half an eye on her. She was quick, but his reflexes were quicker. She was still just a Chunin, and the Ninja war had ended before she fought in it. She probably hadn't seen much of real combat yet and Naruto knew that he had a huge edge on her. He was more interested in what the Uchiha boy could do. He had heard the stories. The Uchiha clan was one of the best of Konoha. They called themselves elite. Naruto had heard the term more than once from Sasuke and Itachi both, though the two said it in different ways. Sasuke still bore pride for his clan, Itachi only held scorn for its reputation. Naruto figured that either way there was something to all the rumors. If an eleven-year-old Uchiha was already a Chunin, than he had some talent to get him there.

"Is the gaki any good?" Naruto asked, looking back at the Uchiha to watch the boy's reaction. Shisui's frown deepened and his eyes flashed slightly – not with the Sharingan, but with angry indignation. Naruto would recognize anger anywhere in any form. The Kyubi was a roiling mass of anger and fury and madness. Naruto knew it well.

"Probably better than you, shithead." Tetsu ground out.

"Better than you, Tetsu-chan?" Naruto asked, flashing a grin at her again. Tetsu crouched lower on her branch, her knuckles a bit white around her kunai at the reminder of their past spar and her loss.

"You got lucky." Tetsu said. "You're not that good."

Naruto bit his tongue to prevent himself from saying something that would make her try to kill him. He didn't mind a good fight every once in a while, but he didn't want some Chunin trying to lop off his head because he goaded her too far.

"I didn't want to hurt you, Tetsu-chan." Naruto said, grinning behind his scarf at her.

Then again, he was terribly bored and highly frustrated with his grounded status. Maybe a pissed off Chunin with a bad attitude and the urge to kill him was just what he needed to blow off some steam.

Tetsu made a sound between a snarl and a shout and chucked her kunai at him. Naruto side-stepped it easily and jumped back from her launched attack. Tetsu flew past him, rolling over the ground and coming to her feet in a mostly fluid movement. Naruto turned sideways to watch her and keep an eye on her two teammates. He wasn't sure that they wouldn't join in to help her out or not.

"You're so angry, Tetsu-chan." Naruto commented.

"You're pigheaded, twerp."

"I'll remind you that I'm bigger than you are."

"Your ego maybe." Tetsu said as she came at him. "And that doesn't change that you're a shithead."

Naruto dodged her punch to his face and moved around her, pushing on her shoulder to move her off balance in the process. She caught herself before she stumbled and growled lowly as she spun low and swiped her foot at his legs. Naruto jumped over her leg and backwards out of her immediate range, tossing a shuriken in front of her to make her redirect whatever attack she had planned. Tetsu paused, crouched in a ready position with one side facing forward towards him.

"You barely know me and already you don't like me." Naruto said, "I'm impressed."

"That should tell you something about yourself, how quickly people dislike you."

Naruto shrugged. "I'm used to it, I'm afraid."

"Come on, Tetsu." Genma called, "As much fun as it is watching you two bicker, we've got to get a move on."

Tetsu straightened and frowned at her teammates. Naruto just stood aside and watched them, curious about what they had to be doing, and a little disappointed at their thwarted fight.

"Going on a mission?" he asked.

Genma nodded. "A quick one to the border. Delivery and message mission."

"Heard you were grounded." Tetsu said, turning back to him with a smirk. Naruto shrugged again, scowling.

"The council didn't like me much." He said.

"They don't trust you, you mean." Tetsu said.

"Is there a difference with them?"

Tetsu barked out a laugh and she moved to leave, waving at her teammates to follow her. Genma moved from his lean against the tree, his senbon shifting from one side of his mouth to the other. Naruto could see Shisui out of the corner of his eye. The boy was watching him closely, in a way that reminded Naruto of how Itachi used to watch him – interested, reluctant, aloof, as if trying to see if Naruto had the possibility of potential for some plan or power. It had made Naruto uncomfortable with Itachi, and it was equally uncomfortable with the young Shisui.

"You hear about the Jonin Trials, Kinatsu?" Genma asked.

Naruto shook his head. "Are they like the Chunin Exams?"

"Nope." Genma said, his smirk showing around the needle between his lips.

"They're worse!" Tetsu called back to him. Naruto turned to look at her as she walked away, leaving her teammates behind. Naruto looked back at Genma, trying to ignore Shisui's stare.

"What are they?"

"They're not an exam." Genma said. "More like a chance for the Chunins to beat the hell out of each other and then have the chance to go up against some of the Jonin."

"The Jonin participate?" Naruto asked.

"They always do."

"So it's what, a competition?"

"Something like that." Genma said, rocking his hand side to side. "Except no Chunin ever wins it. The Jonin always beat the best to a pulp by the end."

"Sounds like fun."

Genma gave him a strange look but then grinned. "Yea, it does, ne?"

"It's coming up then?" Naruto asked.

Genma nodded. "Yup. At the end of the week I think."

"You're not sure?"

"No Chunin ever is. It's a surprise tournament. We haven't had one in a few years because of the war, but there has been rumors for a couple months now that we'll be having one. It'll be soon."

Naruto stuffed his hands into his pant pockets and rocked back on his heals. A tournament style fight amongst the Chunin and Jonin sounded like a better way to work out his frustrations than baiting Tetsu. It would also give him a chance to see what the current crop of Chunin and Jonin were capable of. He knew a lot of them from his future, but they weren't quite the same yet. He knew that from the spar with Tetsu, Genma and Kakashi. Kakashi could have taken them all on when Naruto had known him, and the young, masked Jonin had struggled a bit – not much, but it was enough for Naruto to notice.

"How do you get in?" Naruto asked, causing Genma to smirk.

"You're sponsored." Genma said. "A jonin submits your name if they think you're worth the effort. I don't think you'll have to worry about it. It's supposed to be a surprise, being sponsored by some Jonin, but I'd bet that you'll be in it."

"I don't know many Jonin." Naruto said. He actually knew a lot of them, they just didn't know him at all. He had mostly kept to himself in the weeks he had been in Konoha, training alone or occasionally with the Fourth.

"You know the Hokage." Genma said, slapping him on the shoulder. Naruto felt himself stiffen slightly at the contact, but Genma just smiled and walked away. Naruto watched him for a moment. Genma joined Shisui at the edge of the training grounds and the two disappeared form his view. Tetsu was already gone. Naruto turned back to the training fields and thought about the Jonin Trials. It would be a good way to see what his new limits were. Without the Kyubi as back up, Naruto really didn't know what he was truly capable of any more. He could still create a hundred shadow clones without breaking a sweat. He was pretty sure he could do it more than once in succession, but he just wasn't sure. Working in the training fields alone was different for him than facing an opponent. He always did better when the pressure was on.

Naruto grinned beneath his scarf and headed deeper into the training fields.

oooOoooOoooOooo

Naruto panted as he stood hunched over, his hands on his knees. Before him was a stretch of downed trees and shrubs and upturned earth that made the area look as if a tornado had gouged out a part of the forest. It stretched before him in a twisted, deadened manner, the trees not just knocked down or uprooted, but broken and twisted around themselves. The only sound was his deep breathing as he tried to catch his breath. The local wildlife had long ago fled the area, leaving him alone in the training field.

"Damnit. That hurt." He grumbled.

"Ne, boss, we almost had it that time." Naruto looked up at his clones and nodded. Three of his clones stood near him, looking a little worse for wear.

"We didn't quite get it, did we?" Naruto asked. All three of his clones shook their heads, their eyes flickering over the downed trees nearby. Naruto ran a hand through his bangs and tugged the scarf around his face off, letting it pool around his neck.

"Alright!" he said, standing straight. "One more time!"

One of his clones held its right hand out palm up and he and another clone circled around him. The Rasengan (3) formed over the upturned palm easily, the blue chakra spinning above the clone's hand with a whisper of wind. His clones flanked him, as they reaching out to manipulate the chakra. The sphere changed under their direction, first growing in size and then spinning faster as elemental reconstruction was added. White wind spun sharply around it, chased by streams of red fire as the Rasengan grew and changed.

"Got it!" his clone yelled just before a silent boom echoed off of the trees.

Naruto's hair was pushed off his face, and his clothing whipped around him as a force of unseen chakra rippled out from the sphere in the clone's hand, pulsing through his body and rattling the trees. Naruto looked down at the jutsu, the blue, white and red colors of it racing around the sphere. Blue was at its center in a tightly condensed sphere of chakra with razor blades of white wind twirling in a steady circle around its middle. Chasing the blades of wind was the fire, licking around and through the sphere in a wild, untamed manner. It was a deadly looking technique, and it lived up to its look. At least he thought it would.

"Alright!" Naruto said, watching the sphere carefully. "Try to hold it!"

The clone began to run, his hand holding the Rasengan arched at his side, aiming for the already devastated stretch of forest in front of them. The chakra in his hand whistled at the motion, the wind whipping behind the sphere like a comet as the clone charged forward. The Naruto clone reached forward, pushing the sphere in front of him and the whistling sound grew louder.

"Hurricane Rasengan!" the clone called out. The chakra connected, whistling loudly, and for a moment everything seemed to still. Then the Rasengan exploded.

Naruto staggered and threw up his arms to block the blast of air and dust, lowering his head to ride out the after shock of the explosion. Wind howled before him, blocking out the sounds of cracking trees and burning foliage. He cracked an eye open, watching as his technique ripped through the forest again, rising high above the trees and spreading out in a wild spiraling pattern of destruction. Blue, white and red chakra laced through the area, feeding off each other and fighting for dominance. Fire trailing wind, wind gusting and blowing out fire, both fed by the whirlpool of blue chakra as the tightly knit center of the Hurricane Rasengan expanded out and forward. The destruction raged and blew forward, dieing slowly with a trailing sound of wind and crackling flames.

Naruto lowered his arms, taking in the additional damage with wide-eyed shock. The trees were gone. Not just cracked and broken and shredded, but gone. A triangle gouge of earth and stone stood where once there had been a stretch of tall forest trees. It stretched before him like a gaping canyon, as if some great beast had tracked its claws deep into the earth and uprooted it all. Along the edges were shredded bits of trees, roots and branches reaching desperately into the hole left behind by his attack.

His clone stood at the head of the swath of destruction. Naruto walked over to it, taking in the worn state of it, clutching its arm close to its chest. The clone's clothing was worn and its sleeve tattered, revealing the raw skin of its arm. Blood tried to leak out of the pores, collecting and streaming down the arm to drip slowly to the ground.

Naruto heaved a sigh. "That's going to hurt, isn't it?" he asked, thinking of the memories he'd get once the clone poofed into smoke.

The clone winced and nodded, holding its arm carefully. Naruto glanced between the destroyed, downed forest and the clone. His clones usually didn't survive the attack, dissipating before the full power of the Hurricane Rasengan was unleashed, unable to survive long enough to hold it to completion. He wasn't yet desperate enough to hold the attack himself. It was adding two elemental reconstructions instead of the one of the Rasen-shurikan. His Rasen-shurikan was self-damaging, and he had known from his clones' continued dissipation that his attempt at this new attack would be just as destructive to his own body, if not more so. He had been right. The clone's arm was trembling in its grasp, seeping blood out of pores and the skin looked raw and thin.

He had never seen the full power of that attack before.

"Damn." Naruto mumbled, still shocked at the sheer destruction that his technique carried. He was quite sure that nothing would have survived it had anything been in its way. He felt a flicker of pride and directly after that a deep satisfaction. He had completed another variation of the Rasengan, one that would rearrange the landscape if he needed it to. He smirked. It also let him work out a good deal of his frustrations and wild emotions from his situation and being in the past. _'Nothing like beating the hell out of something to make you feel better.'_

"We did it, boss." His clone said, its voice strained a bit as it continued to hold its injured arm. The blood was increasing, and the clone's arm was an angry red mixed with pale white skin. Its face was looking a little paler than it should, too.

"Yeah." Naruto nodded, "And I'm not sure if I'll ever want to actually use the thing. Damn! It's destructive."

"Hurts too." The clone grumbled.

Naruto nodded again and then stilled, squeezing his eyes shut as a wave of dizziness swept over him.

"Woah. Eats chakra like a bitch, too." Naruto said and let his body slip to the ground, holding his head with one hand as he fought off the dizzy feeling. He moaned and hung his head between his knees, ignoring the chuckles from his injured clone above him. He hadn't felt such a level of chakra exhaustion in a long time. The Kyubi's absence made his pool of chakra no longer so deep. It was a strange, empty feeling that yawned open in his gut in a way he wasn't sure he could ever fill short of putting the fox back in it.

"Company, boss." His clone said suddenly.

"Leave me alone." Naruto said, pulling the scarf from his neck and pulling it over his head in an effort to drown out the dim light coming through the trees above him. It was hurting his head.

"Fine, boss. I'll take this one, then."

Naruto ignored his clone, but froze when he heard a girl's voice call out across the small clearing.

"Kinatsu!"

He knew that voice.

"Kushina-san!" His clone greeted. Naruto heard the clone's feet shuffle across the ground, rounding a downed tree to meet the woman. Naruto peeked out from under his scarf, spotting his clone, its scarf wrapped around its face, and Kushina through the brush and trees. He was largely out of sight from them, sitting behind the downed tree and in the semi-shadow of the forest – or what was left standing of it near the edge of the clearing and the cleared gully he had just created.

"Kinatsu, training?" Kushina asked. The clone replied with an affirmative and was about to say something else when the woman spotted his injured arm.

"You're hurt!" Kushina said, reaching out to the clone. The Naruto clone reacted with unfeigned nervousness and avoidance, stating that it wasn't something to worry about – which it would have been had the injury been on the real Naruto. Kushina didn't seem happy with the situation, looking equally concerned, annoyed and protective. Naruto was touched by her concern, even though she didn't need to be – but she didn't know that she was talking to a clone with more endurance than was usually healthy for the thing.

Naruto watched them interact for a minute, drinking in the sight of her. She had donned personal ninja-dress, her slacks tucked into the wraps around her calves and her feet bare in her sandals with her hitai-ate tied around her neck. An orange tank over a slim, navy shirt draped her shoulders and fell to her mid thighs, decorated with white patterns of some leaf or flower down one side, interrupted only by the belt of her tool pouch. Her long red hair had been pulled back into two loose braids that trailed down her back and shifted every time she moved.

"What have you been doing?" Kushina said, reaching for the injured clone, "Did you do this training?"

"Heh, sorta." The clone said.

"Sorta? What do you mean sort of? Were you sparring? Did someone else do this?"

"No, well not really." The clone tried to take a step back, but Kushina wrapped a hand around its upper arm, keeping the masked blonde in place.

"What happened, Kinatsu?" Kushina said, her eyes narrowed in determination.

Naruto grimaced slightly before standing and sliding further into the shadows away from the two. He moved silently, letting his scarf fall back around his shoulders as he picked up his red coat from near his feet, and moved deeper into the trees. His clone could handle this. He was too tired to do it himself. _'Besides,'_ he thought, _'I'm not really injured anyways.'_

He was just out of hearing distance of the two when his clone's memories filtered into his mind, telling him that the clone had dissipated itself. Naruto paused in his slinking through the shadows as the memory of the pain of the jutsu rippled through him, and then grimaced as the end of the clone's conversation with Kushina came to him – her grip on his shoulder, the healing chakra laced through her fingers as she reached for his injured arm and the streak of panic the clone had right before dissipating away, Kushina's shocked face the last thread of memory.

"Damn it." He mumbled, glancing back the way he had come. She wasn't going to be very happy with him for the panicked ditching in getting away from her healing, nor for tricking her with a clone.

"Kinatsu!" her voice echoed angrily through the trees, reminding him very strongly of Sakura when he had done something stupid to piss her off. He vaguely heard her move through the forest, no doubt looking for the real him.

Naruto grimaced again and jumped up into the trees. Maybe he'd avoid her for a while.

oooOoooOoooOooo

**Author's Note:** And the Japanese…

1)Ossu – a greeting used between male peers.

2)Gaki – brat; also kids, or ghoul. Used in the context of 'brat', or 'kid' here.

3)Rasengan – means "spiraling sphere". It is the attack that the Fourth created and didn't get the chance to finish. Jiraiya taught it to Naruto, who learned it in a week with the help of his clones, and won Tsunade's necklace for his trouble.

The Hurricane Rasengan is my own spin on an advanced form of the Rasengan.


	4. AKUSEN close contest

**Author's Note: **Someone asked me if Naruto knows Senjutsu (the Sage techniques) in this story. I began writing this prior to Naruto's sage training with the toads, so I had not planned on incorporating it. I'm still debating, mostly because we do not yet fully know/understand how it works and how he uses it. I may very well incorporate it later as it looks like it'll be loads of fun, but at present, Naruto does not know Senjutsu in this story.

**Disclaimer:** Naruto and etc. aren't mine, but there is a growing collection of original characters that will undoubtedly make their appearances.

oooOoooOoooOooo

**Namikaze Brothers **Arc One : Magirekomu Bettenchi(to be lost in another world)

By Renatus

Chapter 04 – Akusen (a close contest)

oooOoooOoooOooo

_Five weeks after arrival…_

Naruto walked through Konoha's streets slowly, his arms crossed behind his head and enjoying the warmth of the sun. The restaurants and food stands along the street wafted smells and scents across his nose, making his stomach rumble at the prospect of food. He smiled behind his scarf at the thought. He had just eaten.

"Kinatsu-kun," a voice said from his side. Naruto glanced down at the woman walking next to him. Kushina smiled at him, her red hair was loose and trailed down the entire length of her back, a chunk of it draped over one shoulder and brushing against her stomach as she walked. She was dressed in civilian clothes, a long green jumper over slim pants and sandals. She was much more healthy and lively now, five weeks after the Kyubi's attack and the death of her child. Of course Naruto didn't see her all that often and he didn't ask, so he wasn't sure how she was really handling her child's death. But Naruto loved her smile, and gave every opportunity to see it, when he could ignore his emotions long enough to be near her.

"Hai, Kushina-san?" he said, letting his hands fall to his sides.

"Are you ready for the Jonin Trials?" she asked.

Naruto shrugged, "I suppose so. If they're anything like the Chunin Exams I guess I'll be alright."

"They are a bit different." She said, then smiled. "But I'm not supposed to say anything."

"Ah, Kushina-san! Come on. Give me a hint or something."

Kushina chuckled, "No, I don't think so."

Naruto pouted behind his scarf even though he knew she couldn't see it. She seemed to know what he was doing anyways and laughed, reaching up to pull on his ponytail.

"I'll be watching, you know." She said. "Since I'm a Jonin, I'll be in the stands."

"Be sure to put in a good word for me then."

"I doubt I'll need to." Kushina said, "Minato thinks very highly of you, you know."

"He's also really hard on me." Naruto grumbled, thinking of the few quick sparring sessions they had had over the past couple weeks. The Fourth had pushed Naruto's limits, what little Minato gave him time for. The Fourth seemed to enjoy seeing how quickly he could knock him out, which just irritated Naruto to no end. Naruto knew that his speed wasn't the best, however much he had improved over the years. He was better than he had been, especially with his Hakinkage, but it was not his strength. He was better off standing firm and using the power of his chakra, his endurance and his stubborn will to both take hits and give them. The Fourth was forcing him to find more speed and Naruto was struggling against one of the Yondaime's greatest assets.

"One of these days I'm going to figure out that Hiraishin (1) of his, and then he'll be in trouble." Naruto said, scowling slightly. "That flash transport technique is annoying."

Kushina laughed, and Naruto smiled at her, happy that she was laughing. They arrived at the stadium then, and Kushina waved and gave him a "Good luck, Kinatsu-kun," before wandering up to the stands. Naruto entered the stadium proper, joining the milling Chunin on the stadium floor.

He stood off the side a bit, watching them interact and looking around the stadium. It was the same stadium that he had been in for his Chunin Exam, but the crowd was considerably smaller. There was also a large group of ANBU, some perched around the top edges of the stadium walls. Naruto wasn't sure he had ever seen so many of them in one place before. He wondered why they were so interested in the Jonin Trials.

Naruto turned his attention to the Chunin. Most of those around him seemed to know each other, or at least somebody. There was a wide range of ages, though most were likely about his age as well – somewhere between eighteen and twenty-something. All were Leaf Shinobi. Naruto recognized a few of them. Genma and Tetsu were among them, two of the few people of the village he had so far interacted with. He also knew a few of the others from his past; Kurenai, Asuma, Gai – among others, all so much younger than he remembered them to be, but easily recognizable to him. It was strange to see them as Chunin instead of as Jonin. They're uniform clothing threw him off a little. It had been rare to see any of the three in anything but their favored clothing. Though Gai still wore a green jumpsuit beneath his vest. The teen was nearly a spitting image of how Lee looked at the same age.

"Attention!" a uniformed ninja said, getting everyone's attention on the floor. "This is the start of the Jonin Trials. All of those present have been submitted and accepted to participate. These trials will take place in two parts. The first is a small-tiered tournament amongst the Chunin that is designed to narrow the field. You will start in teams and then later will fight individually. Once there are only eight left, the remaining will be pitted against Jonin for the second tiered tournament. You all know the rules. If you would all please go to the viewing platform and check the roster posted there for the order of the fights."

Naruto blinked at the short introduction and followed the others up the stairs to the viewing area. There were quite a few Chunin. He could understand why they wanted to narrow them down a bit. He milled with the others, and checked the tournament sheet pasted to the wall. Of the thirty-three Chunin, only eight would last to fight against a Jonin. Naruto wondered if there were always so many who participated.

Naruto found his name, Kinatsu, scripted near the center and paired up with two other names he didn't know under the number seven. Naruto smiled at the reminder of his first team.

"Tch." Someone said near him, "They're only letting eight fight the Jonin." Naruto glanced over to him. Asuma stood there, rolling a cigarette between his fingers and staring at the board with a slight scowl. He was perhaps fifteen, and looked it. The lack of facial hair and the slightly round face made him look young and inexperienced to Naruto, who was used to the quiet calculating eyes and smoke that Asuma had as a Jonin.

"Yeah, and half of us are going to be gone after the team fights." Another said. "Ten teams of three. This will be quick work."

"Confident are you, Mizu?" Asuma said.

"Working in teams of three makes things easier, Asuma." Mizu said. Naruto turned to Mizu, and took note of the other boy's appearance and name. He was lanky and tall, with his hitai-ate twisted to the side of his head. He wore a tan jacket over the Chunin vest, and his sleeves were long enough to hide his hands from sight. Mizu was one of those on his team. Naruto wondered how he fought. He hadn't known the boy as an adult.

"But the teams are scrambled. We're working with people we don't know." Asuma said.

Mizu shrugged and wandered away, obviously bored with the conversation. Asuma scowled after him before returning the scowl to the tournament board, his cigarette twirling between his fingers.

Naruto watched Mizu walk away before moving to the railing and looked at the board across the field. It showed two numbers already, three and eight. Naruto sighed and watched as the two teams made their way to the field.

"Hey, blondie, I don't know you."

Naruto turned to find a girl next to him, her head barely reaching the height of his chin. Her hair was dark, and her eyes were a brilliant red as she looked up at him with a smirk. She was dressed in a short and skirt ensemble with a slim sleeveless top. She was a bit small, and Naruto knew she wasn't more than a few years younger than him. He recognized her immediately. A second girl stood next to her, remaining silent. Naruto didn't know her and she didn't look at all familiar. She was dressed in a light green short kimono, with tall shin guards and a wide tool pouch behind her waist and a sword across her back, its straps hugging her shoulders. Her hair was long and dark, which made her light eyes stand out like silver.

"I don't know you either." He lied, looking at the girl who had spoken to him.

"Kurenai." She said, her smirk growing into a grin. "Yuhi Kurenai."

"I'm Kinatsu."

"Oh? That's it?"

Naruto nodded, and she grinned again, gesturing to the girl beside her. "This is Shimizu Nanami."

Naruto looked at the second girl, who watched him with unreadable eyes. She didn't speak a word, so Naruto remained silent in return. She was slightly unnerving, but at the same time it made him curious about her. He had no idea who she was. Neither her face nor her name sparked any memory. She held herself proudly, with a quiet confidence that put Naruto in mind of Neji after he had gotten the stick out of his ass. It made her attractive and him cautious. Neji had developed a subtle, deadly air about him, and the silver-eyed Nanami had one very similar.

"Well, Kinatsu. I'll be keeping my eye on you." Kurenai said.

"Sure, Kurenai-chan." He said. Kurenai frowned at him but otherwise didn't respond. She looped her arm through Nanami's and led the other girl away. Naruto watched them cross to the other side of the viewing room before turning his attention to the fight starting in the arena.

"Careful with her." Naruto turned to find Genma next to him, the senbon twitching slightly as he settled against the railing.

"Oh?" Naruto said, watching the other boy.

"She's unpredictable." Genma said, then smirked around the needle.

"Which one?"

"The Shimizu."

"The Shimizu?"

Genma nodded. "She's one of the Shimizu clan."

"Eh, Shimizu, huh?" Naruto hadn't heard of them before. "Why is she so unpredictable?"

Genma shrugged. "She just is. It's her nature. Unpredictable, cold, murderous, nasty in a taijutsu (2) spar or when given a pick up line. Did I mention murderous?"

Naruto watched the other boy shudder slightly, and smiled at the thought of the strange girl getting such a reaction out of him. Genma's words didn't make Naruto any more cautious about her. He had not heard of the Shimizu clan before, and Genma just made him all the more curious about her.

"She sounds interesting." Naruto said, causing Genma to look at him a bit wildly. "I wouldn't mind facing her in a match."

"You're crazy, blondie." Genma said, rolling his senbon to the other side of his mouth.

Naruto chuckled. "It's not the first time I've heard that."

Genma hummed in response and turned his attention to the match below.

"So what exactly are these Jonin Trials about, anyways?" Naruto asked.

"Eh?" Genma turned his attention back to him. "What, you've never participated in one before?"

"No."

Genma shrugged and looked back to the arena. "They should call it the Chunin trials, really." He said, "The Jonin have a tournament that they do earlier in the year I heard. These Jonin Trials are for the Chunin to compete against each other and possibly face a Jonin in a fight, and usually not too many actually make Jonin because of them."

"Oh? So what's the purpose?" Naruto asked, "Are they just for fun?"

"Maybe." Genma said with a chuckle. "I suppose they give us Chunin an opportunity for some friendly sparring action. That and the Jonin and Council are usually watching most of it, so they can get a good look at our skills. Some Chunin get promotions within the few weeks after."

"So winning the tournament doesn't mean you'll make Jonin, then?"

"Ha! No Chunin has ever won this thing!"

Naruto looked at him with some surprise, his eyebrows raised. "No one?"

"Yeah." Genma said, smirking at him around the senbon, "No Chunin has ever won once the Jonin join in. Some make it past their first match or two, but the tournament continues until all the Chunin are gone. The Jonin always win in the end. They pair up difficult opponents on purpose. If a Chunin is proving to be really good, they'll match him with a top Jonin."

"Huh." Naruto said, turning his eyes back to the fight in the arena with a growing smirk. "This should be fun, then."

Genma stared at him, his mouth a bit slack as he realized that Naruto was dead serious and not at all kidding around. Naruto really did think that the tournament was going to be fun. He was looking forward to battling the Jonin. He wondered who he would be matched with after he got through the early rounds.

oooOoooOoooOooo

Watching the Jonin Trials was entirely different from the Chunin Exams. Naruto was alternately impressed, shocked and disappointed with the Chunin battling on the field. The matches either dragged on much longer then the Genin's battles, or were over remarkably fast.

Few of the Chunin left the field very injured. They all seemed to be saving their strength for the possibility of facing down a Jonin later. While Naruto understood the mindset, it made the fights seem a bit tame. Naruto's experience with his only Chunin Exam had left many of his fellow Genin very much injured and unable to continue even if they had won their duel. He wondered if his generation had just been that much more tenacious, or if it was normal for two Genins to beat each other so severely while the Chunin held restraint.

Each team's teamwork varied. Some worked flawlessly together, and others struggled a little at the beginning. One team clashed against each other through their entire fight and ended up walking – one was carried – off the field after an embarrassingly short skirmish. Genma's team lost, though by no fault of his own. His two teammates – both younger than him, argued and postered while their opponents taunted them. The two boys had been torn through by their opponents. Genma was a bit more gracious and he took two down with him. Naruto was pretty sure that the two wouldn't be able to fight at full capacity for a while. The third got Genma while he had been busy with the others.

After an hour there was only two teams left to fight, seven and ten. Naruto glanced at the board as the teams below him finished their fight and began to leave the arena. His team's number flashed on the board and Naruto smiled a bit. He was anxious to join in the fun.

He watched as a couple near him turned to the stairs before he jumped over the railing and fell to the arena floor below. He landed easily, crouched low to the ground in order to cushion the fall. He grinned and crossed the field, nodding to the Jonin acting as referee.

The others joined him, and Naruto looked his two teammates over. The boy – Mizu – was his age and a bit taller and thinner. He was tall and lanky and the crooked hitai-ate put Naruto in mind of Zabuza, though Mizu wasn't much like the missing-nin otherwise. Mizu looked at him coolly, a bit aloof but not hostile. The dark-haired girl next to him was petite, and wore a split skirt over her pants and short-sleeved blue top that had yellow flowers down its front. She smiled at him politely, and Naruto nodded in return.

"My name is Mori Aoi." She said.

"I'm Kinatsu." Naruto replied, and turned to Mizu.

"Ishikawa Mizu." He said, pushing his brown hair out of his eyes and turning to face the other team. Naruto shrugged and followed, sizing the others up. Tetsu stood in the middle, alternating between grinning at them and giving scowls to her two teammates. They seemed to know each other, and not necessarily get along. The two boys were glaring at each other over Tetsu's head.

"Know anything about them?" Naruto asked. One of them was tall and wide. He could probably hit pretty hard, but Naruto would've been surprised if he was very fast. The other one glaring was just as tall, but not nearly as broad, and had wraps around his legs and arms, with gloves covering his hands. Tetsu had settled for ignoring her teammate's silent glaring contest and smirked over at them instead.

"The one in the middle is Saotome Tetsu," Aoi said, "She's pretty fast and agile."

"She's crazy." Mizu said.

"And good at hand-to-hand." Naruto said. His two teammates glanced at him and he shrugged, not bothering to explain how he knew her.

Naruto watched as Tetsu talked to the other two. Her auburn hair was pulled into a messy ponytail, and she was shaking a fist at the two boys.

"Any of them genjutsu (3) users?" Naruto asked.

"Not really. The other two are strength based." Aoi said. "Haro and Iwabuta. They don't like each other much."

"I can tell." Naruto said as the two continued to shoot glares at each other over Tetsu's head.

"Haro is the thinner one." Aoi continued, "He's pretty fast and has good accuracy, and Iwabuta can take hits and get back up really well. They both use weapons."

Iwabuta was clearly older, and Haro though tall, was young. Haro's hair was dark and spiked up around his head wildly, while Iwabuta's lay more tame around his ears. Both had weapons strapped to their backs. Naruto could see the handles of large kunai crossed behind Haro, and something like swords on Iwabuta.

"Hmm." Naruto glanced at his two teammates. He knew nothing about them. Mizu was confident, and Aoi was small and polite. Naruto had no idea how to work with them, but he wasn't too worried about it. He was always better at making things up as he went along anyways. "Well, how do you want to do this then?"

Mizu turned to look at him with a raised brow, before returning his attention to the other team, who had spread out from each other a bit. "I'll take Haro." He said, training his eyes on the other boy.

"By yourself?" Naruto said.

Mizu glared at him, and didn't respond.

Naruto shrugged and eyed Aoi. She was looking between the two others thoughtfully.

"Do you have a preference, Aoi-chan?" Naruto asked, "Since I guess we're going to go one-on-one and all."

Aoi gave him a small smile. "I don't mind. I'll see what I can do against Iwabuta."

Naruto eyed the big guy, noting the young man's armor and swords strapped to his back. Iwabuta looked like he could be from Chouji's clan, but he didn't have the facial markings, and his hair was black instead of the soft brown. He was easily three times the size of Aoi.

"Why don't we try to separate them and take them on together?" Naruto asked.

Mizu glanced behind him, and shot forward, pulling a kunai from his pouch as he charged at Haro. The other team was spread out now, and largely on their own. Naruto watched Haro dodge and retaliate with a few shuriken.

Naruto sighed and looked at Aoi. "Should I help him?"

"He wouldn't appreciate it." She said, keeping her eye on Iwabuta as the large guy edged closer to them. "He was always a bit of a loner."

"Yeah, but he isn't alone now." Naruto grumbled.

Aoi chuckled lightly. "That's just the way he is, I guess."

"You know him, then?"

"He was on my Genin team." Aoi said.

"Oh." Naruto looked back at Mizu, who had put some distance between himself and Haro and was now across the field from them. Mizu was standing with a kunai in one hand, staring down Haro with a cold look that didn't seem to faze the other one bit.

Suddenly a rain of shuriken came at them and Naruto turned his attention to the big guy, Iwabuta. Naruto was about to dodge out of the way when Aoi's hands flew through a series of hand seals and slammed her hands to the ground.

"Earth Release: Earth Wall Defense!" she said and the ground rose up around them, guarding them from the shuriken. Naruto could hear them hit the wall on the other side, and he gave the girl a smile, knowing that she would be able to tell the expression despite his scarf masking his face.

"Nice!" Naruto said, forming a long familiar seal in front of his chest. "My turn! Shadow Clone!"

He grinned as a dozen clones bounded over the top of the wall in the direction of Iwabuta, half of them yelling taunts as they went. Naruto gave Aoi another grin as he sprinted towards the third member of the other team.

"Come on, shithead." Tetsu called, pulling a kunai. "You're mine."

"I'm all yours, Tetsu-chan!" Naruto grinned. He wasn't about to go as easy on her as he had before. He wanted to end his preliminary matches quickly to save his strength for matching up against the Jonin later. Naruto pulled a few shuriken from his leg holder and formed the seal for his shadow clones.

Tetsu was vastly underestimating him and he really didn't like it.

oooOoooOoooOooo

"I'm going to kill you." Tetsu growled at him. Naruto looked over at her with a raised eyebrow. She was standing against the railing of the viewing chamber beside him, glaring at him darkly. Bits of dirt still clung to her clothing and hair, which caused Naruto to chuckle. He had ended their fight with the same trick he had used before: pulling her into the ground by her ankles. He really just did it to add insult to injury. He had her beat before, surrounded with his clones and held at kunai point, but being able to pull the same trick over a ninja twice was something Naruto enjoyed doing whenever he got the chance.

"Hello, Tetsu-chan." He said.

"Did you hear me?"

"Of course." Naruto said, "You said you were going to kill me."

Tetsu narrowed her eyes at him. Naruto smiled which only caused the girl to snarl.

"Well, if I don't get the opportunity, then I'm sure your next opponent will do it for me." She said, and pointed to the newly filled in tournament sheet on the wall.

Naruto glanced at it, already aware of where his name had been placed among the fifteen remaining Chunin. They were past the team sparring now, and with the odd number of Chunin, one had received a buy to the next round. Naruto wasn't lucky enough to be the one, not that he was complaining. His first match was against Maito Gai.

"You can't beat him, you know." Tetsu taunted. Naruto looked back at her and grinned, his expression looking much like Kakashi's masked grins.

"I'm not worried." Naruto said.

"He's tougher than you think."

Naruto shrugged and glanced at the board in the arena. His name appeared next to Gai's and Naruto grinned at the girl next to him again.

"I think I can handle Maito Gai." Naruto said. "Green Beast of Konoha or not."

Tetsu didn't look like she quite believed him, but didn't say anything as he walked away to the stairs. Naruto really wasn't too worried about facing Gai as a Chunin. He had sparred with Lee enough times to know what to expect.

oooOoooOoooOooo

Naruto looked the man over as Gai made his way across the arena field. He looked the same, though his face was younger and he was gangly in the way that only adolescents were. He couldn't have been older than fifteen. He looked so much like Lee did at that age that Naruto had a hard time separating the two in his mind, especially once Gai struck his 'nice guy' pose across from him, his teeth sparkling white in the sun.

Naruto resisted the urge to roll his eyes and simply smirked back at him, ignoring the man's words about the power of youth or whatever nonsense he was spouting.

The referee motioned for them to start and Gai settled into a familiar ready stance.

"Come then, my opponent!" Gai called, "Face the Green Beast of Konoha!"

"As you wish." Naruto grinned widely and obeyed.

Naruto charged and circled around Gai to throw a punch at his lower back. Gai dodged quick enough to save his kidney and jumped forward, kicking backwards as he went. Naruto arced around him and charged in at the green-clad boy again, flashing through hand seals quickly. Just as he closed in on Gai he called out his attack, shifting to the side to dodge Gai's three-kick combo.

"Wind Release: Wind Hammer!" Naruto said, and smiled as a blunt force of wind slammed into Gai at close range, throwing the boy across the arena ground to slam into the wall with a dull thud.

Naruto didn't move from his spot as he watched Gai push himself to his feet. He knew how that wind attack felt. It hit hard and fast and felt more like an iron wall slamming into you than a hammer. Naruto's first time using the technique had sent a giant-sized Chouji tossed through the air to land dazed from the force. Naruto had since learned to curb the amount of power he put into his jutsus, but even restrained, his attacks tended to pack quite a punch.

"That was a wonderful attack!" Gai called, getting to his feet.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at him, half amused and half sorrowful with memories of Gai and Lee's antics. Apparently, Gai had always been this optimistic. Then again, such cheerfulness was only ever out done by Naruto's own stubborn optimism and confidence.

"You took that hit pretty well, Maito-san." Naruto said.

"You will have to hit me harder than that, Kinatsu-san!" Gai called. "I am stronger than I may look!"

Naruto smiled and nodded slightly. He knew about Gai's rigorous training. Only Lee had surpassed the incredible training methods of Gai. Naruto also knew that unlike Lee, Gai could use ninjutsu (4) just fine, even if he didn't do so often.

"And I am faster too!" Gai called, and reached down to undo the weights around his legs. Naruto felt his eyebrows go up at the motion. He had never seen Gai use weights before. While he knew that he was fast and strong, he had never witnessed the man remove weights, or even speak of them outside of Lee's training. Gai dropped the leg weights beside him, both sending out a small cloud of dust as they slammed into the ground. Naruto figured that they weren't nearly the amount that Lee had used as a Genin and not even close to what Lee used later on, but it was enough to make Gai a bit faster without them.

Naruto raised one hand in front of his chin, forming a simple concentration seal. Gai watched him with a wide smile as he settled into a ready stance, one hand outstretched before him with his palm upward.

Naruto's smirk grew as he gathered his chakra and whispered, "Hakinkage."

His chakra swirled within him and he felt it shift under his skin, pulling chakra from his reserves in a steady pulse. Naruto let his hand lower and watched Gai's expression fade slightly to curiosity. Naruto knew what it must be like. His eyes changing color tended to make people think that his eyesight was affected. Naruto had found it to be a good distraction, even though he didn't always take advantage of the misconception.

Naruto felt his smirk turn slightly devious as he shifted slightly, feeling the effects of the Hakinkage's speed and strength in his motions.

"Are you ready, Maito-san?" Naruto called, "Let's see who is faster."

Gai's smile returned and he motioned with his hand in a 'come' motion.

Naruto's grin matched the younger boy's exactly, and for a moment both were perfectly still. A second later they faded into blurs as they charged at each other.

oooOoooOoooOooo

"Damn." Genma said, watching the barely seen blurs of the two fighting in the arena. "They're fast."

"I knew Gai was fast," the boy next to him said, "But I didn't expect that kind of speed from the blonde guy."

"Eh, he's a bit crazy in the head too." Genma said, glancing at the fifteen-year old next to him. "Hey, Asuma, do you know anything about him?"

"Kinatsu?"

"Yeah."

The dark haired boy next to him shook his head. "Not a thing. You?"

"Nope." Genma fiddled with the senbon in his mouth with his tongue. "He's got a lot of chakra, that's obvious, what with the way he uses the Shadow Clones."

"And stamina." Asuma said. "He created nearly a hundred of those clones in his team match. But I've never heard of him before."

Genma shrugged. There were quite a lot of Chunin after all, and taking into account the entirety of Konoha's Chunin numbers, there were quite a few unknowns. It wasn't so strange to encounter another Chunin that you hadn't seen before. The age range alone made that quite a usual occurrence. But Kinatsu was interesting. He stood out enough that it was strange that no one seemed to have heard of him before. That the Fourth had wanted to test his strengths a couple weeks ago just added to the mystery.

Genma watched the blurs that were Kinatsu and Gai, neither slowing at all in their fast sparring. As far as Genma could tell they were both restricting themselves to their speed and taijutsu, which so far seemed evenly matched, though very different from each other.

"What style is he using anyways?" Genma asked, trying to get the fast motions of the two to focus.

"Gai's or Kinatsu's?" Asuma asked.

"Eh, both I guess."

"Gai uses the Strong Fist style." Asuma said. "I don't recognize Kinatsu's. It looks like some sort of bastardization of something else, but I can't put my finger on it."

Genma hummed at the answer and shifted the senbon in his mouth from one side to the other. Asuma's description of Kinatsu's taijutsu style was pretty accurate. Every once in a while the blonde's stance or attack form would look familiar before it deformed into something unpredictable. Genma knew that Gai was a taijutsu master already, and he was impressed that the unknown blonde was keeping up with the green-clad shinobi so easily.

_'Actually,'_ Genma thought as his eyes widened in growing shock, _'Kinatsu is gaining the upper hand.'_

"Shit…" Asuma said faintly, and Genma echoed the sentiment.

One moment the two had been battling equally, the next Kinatsu had formed a dozen Shadow Clones and subsequently both swamped Gai with most of them and ran through a series of fast hand seals that resulted in a flash of lightning based chakra in the form of a great cat that mowed down Gai and the clones, crashing them all into the far wall of the arena with a great crash, sending out dust and debris and chakra-laden lightning in a wide arc.

Kinatsu stood near the center of the field, a couple of his clones still near by, staring into the cloud of dust and grass and leaves that hid Gai from view. The dust cleared slowly, revealing Gai's prone form slouched against the wall. His clothes and hair looked a little charred and he struggled to stand, his limbs shaking visibly from the effort. Gai collapsed again and raised his head to look at his opponent.

"Nice one, Kinatsu-san!" he said, his voice strained, but smiling nonetheless.

Kinatsu returned the smile, the expression obvious in his eyes despite the scarf masking his face.

"Match!" the referee called.

oooOoooOoooOooo

Minato watched as Naruto stretched his arms up over his head and let his hands fall to the back of his neck, eyeing his opponent for his fourth match of the tournament. After the Chunin had battled each other and whittled the field down to eight, eight Jonin names were added to the tournament roster, and the tournament began its final stage.

Naruto's first Jonin opponent had been a dark-haired young man who had favored senbon needles and hails of shuriken. Minato knew that he was good with medical jutsus and had good chakra control, but Naruto had beaten him pathetically quickly with his speed-enhanced Hakinkage, and a few well placed Shadow Clones. The medically trained shinobi had found his own senbon needles pointed at his throat, heart and eyes a mere ten minutes into the match, all of the clones around him grinning darkly.

Naruto's second match against a Jonin – who had beaten the first Chunin matched to him – took much longer to end, but had the same result. Naruto had not used his Hakinkage for the second, instead favoring a few obscure jutsus that combined with his relentless shadow clones had won him the match, though Naruto had taken a few good hits from his opponent as punishment.

Minato had been impressed with Naruto's skills over the past couple weeks as they sparred. Naruto proved to be a quick and creative tactician in the middle of a fight, and Minato had found himself taking his eighteen-year-old son from the future seriously, and a bit cautiously. Minato had yet to see Naruto show his full skills in the trials, though he had already managed to impress a few in the arena, especially with his speed and obvious chakra stores. Minato wondered though, how long Naruto could keep it up. Without the Kyubi's chakra and power to draw from, Naruto didn't know what his limits were. Minato hadn't pushed him to find them. In their sparring Minato just pushed the boy for quickness and speed. It hadn't taken him long to find that it was one of Naruto's weaker aspects, but not knowing the new limits of his endurance was another. Naruto couldn't pace himself without knowing what his peak was. Minato hoped that he would find it during the trials.

Naruto's combat skills were clearly at Jonin level, though Minato already knew that from sparring with him. That wasn't even taking into account the shear power that most of his esoteric collection of ninjutsu carried. It was interesting to see how Naruto's fighting style altered slightly with each opponent, using the other's weaknesses against them in an effective, unremitting method.

"He's pretty good." His student said from his side.

Minato nodded and glanced at the ANBU mask behind his shoulder. The red marked dog mask was fitting for the white-haired young man, not that his hair was visible under the hood of his coat.

"Do you wish you were participating, Kakashi?" Minato asked softly.

Kakashi looked at him and Minato could imagine the scowl he was receiving for saying the boy's name when he was in uniform. Kakashi looked back to the arena where Naruto and his opponent were still sizing each other up.

"Maybe." Kakashi admitted. "He's interesting, but I don't think he would be so difficult."

Minato chuckled lightly, making Kakashi scoff in return.

"His stamina and chakra levels may surprise you." Minato commented. "I don't think Kinatsu has yet begun to truly tire."

"He's fought in four matches already." Kakashi said.

Minato nodded, taking in the few injuries that Naruto had from his previous matches. None of them seemed to bother the masked blonde, nor slow him down any. From Minato's experience, taking a few good hits from his opponent seemed to be a part of Naruto's strategy. Or he just didn't care, as he got right back up after any attack dealt to him. Minato had been a little shocked by Naruto's resilience at first.

"Are you telling me that he could continue against Jonin level shinobi?" Kakashi asked, "He has to win this match against Morino and then face the winner of the match between Nara Shikaku and Uchiha Hiroi."

"Hmm, yes." Minato said, "But Shikaku and Hiroi are both Jonin, they won't fight each other in a match. Likely they will chose between each other who will face Kinatsu in the final battle."

"Hiroi was one who faced the Kyubi," Kakashi said, "And survived. He's a strong Shinobi."

"Kinatsu has more strength than you think. I believe he will be able to face Uchiha Hiroi and have a chance against him."

"If Kinatsu wins against Morino Ibiki." Kakashi said. "Ibiki may still be a rookie Chunin, but he's got strength and is good at illusions. Kinatsu hasn't come against a decent genjutsu user in this tournament yet."

Minato was silent for a moment as he thought about Kakashi's words. It was true that Kinatsu had to beat Ibiki, a talented young shinobi, and then would be forced to face one of Konoha's elites, whether it be Shikaku or an Uchiha, but Minato knew that Naruto had far more strength than he was letting on. Even if he didn't win the tournament, Naruto's skills in combat matched and even outranked many Jonin. Minato didn't blame Kakashi for not seeing that strength, Naruto had kept it well hidden so far.

"Kakashi," Minato said, turning to look at his student's eyes through the ceramic mask, "Kinatsu can hold his own pretty well in a spar against me, so long as I don't start using my Hiraishin."

Minato saw both of Kakashi's mismatched eyes open at that and the white-haired ANBU looked back to the two shinobi in the arena field with a bit more speculation. Minato followed his gaze, watching as Naruto finally moved to attack.

"It is entirely possible that he might win this tournament." Minato said softly, knowing that Kakashi would hear his words.

oooOoooOoooOooo

Naruto sized up the boy across from him. Morino Ibiki wasn't actually a Jonin. Like Naruto, Ibiki had wiped the floor with his first two Jonin adversaries and now the two Chunin got to face each other.

Naruto looked the fifteen-year-old over, noticing that while Ibiki wasn'y yet to his full adult height, he already towered over Naruto. Naruto hadn't recognized him at first. Ibiki didn't have the scars crossing his face and his features were still softened with his youth. _'He has hair!'_ Naruto thought, staring at the strands of brown hair that peaked out from under the bandana hitai-ate. Ibiki's strong shoulders and chest told Naruto that he could probably still hit just as hard, though. Naruto knew that one from personal experience. Morino Ibiki could punch with the strength of a bear swinging a sledgehammer. The man had hit Naruto through a wall once and Naruto was sure that the younger version of the man could do the same thing.

It wasn't Ibiki's size or strength that made Naruto pause though. He had sparred and trained with Chouji and Sakura after all. Naruto was far more worried about what sort of genjutsu Ibiki had up his sleeve. Naruto was weak against the illusions, and he knew that Ibiki would hold a powerful reputation for wielding psychological warfare and genjutsu against his captives. If Naruto recalled rightly, than Ibiki's genjutsu were usually touch-based and damned hard to break out of. Naruto preferred being blasted through a wall. At least he knew what was real.

Naruto dropped his hands back to his side as Ibiki settled into a more ready stance. Naruto wasn't sure how to fight the boy yet, but he did know that he wasn't about to let him touch him. Naruto wanted to avoid the nasty bits of genjutsu that Ibiki took such sadistic joy from in his adult life if at all possible.

Naruto no longer had his Hakinkage activated, though Naruto toyed with the idea of activating it for its strength. He wanted to use as little chakra as he could however. Without the Kyubi, Naruto didn't know how much chakra he really had to draw on. It wasn't easy to measure one's chakra without simply running it out. Naruto hadn't yet done that – not without using personal jutsus that he couldn't measure. He didn't want to spend the few days in the hospital that would come after a chakra exhaustion just for training. A few days in the hospital after he won the Jonin Trials, though, he could do. Gladly. Though after four matches, Naruto was beginning to feel the growing weariness of his body.

Ibiki shifted subtly, Naruto grinned and charged.

Ibiki reacted with taijutsu, a style that clearly spoke of strength rather than speed, and Naruto countered it with quick dodges and unpredictable movements. Ibiki threw a wide punch, barely missing Naruto's nose as he leaned back. Naruto let his body fall, catching himself with one hand and swinging his leg out at the other's feet. Ibiki didn't move, he simply took the blow directly to his shins, and Naruto grimaced at the pain that rippled up his leg. It felt like he had just tried to kick a brick wall. Naruto stared up at him, incredulous, and Ibiki grinned darkly back at him.

Ibiki reached down and Naruto jumped away, somersaulting backwards and rolling over the ground to avoid the man's hand. Ibiki caught his foot, however, and Naruto suddenly found himself flying through the air towards the wall at an alarming speed. He crashed into the wall hard, sending rock and debris out around him. Ibiki followed him, barreling his fist into his gut and making Naruto spit up blood, gasping for air. Ibiki gripped his collar, holding him to the wall and pulled his fist back to his ear and aimed for his face.

Naruto threw his head to the side, feeling Ibiki's fist graze his ear, but a third fist caught him in his sternum, and then a fourth hammered into his stomach again. Naruto gasped and stared and suddenly Ibiki's form morphed and changed into something larger with four arms connected to something that resembled a body. The arms all pulled back and swung towards his chest. Naruto felt his eyes widen at the incoming attack, a little too shocked to react, but knowing now that he was trapped in one of his illusions.

The four fists slammed into him, driving his body deep into the wall and sending stars out in front of his eyes. Naruto coughed and gasped at the pain and tried to pull himself out of the wall again, but his body only jerked in response. He looked down at himself and stared. His chest had been caved in and bits of his ribs and sternum showed white through his tattered skin and clothing.

_'It's just a stupid genjutsu!'_ Naruto told himself, _"Break out of it, damnit!'_

Naruto forced himself to breathe and let out a large wave of chakra. Suddenly he was no longer crushed into the wall but crouched in front of Ibiki with the other boy's hand placed on the bare skin of his arm. Ibiki was staring at him in shock and Naruto kicked out, making Ibiki stagger backwards and gave Naruto time to flip to his feet and put a good deal of distance between them.

Naruto glared at him from his crouched position, tasting the coppery flavor of blood on his tongue. He scowled and lowered his head, crossing one arm in front of his face and lowering the scarf with the other and spitting out the blood pooling in his mouth. He scowled and replaced his mask, shifting the cloth over his nose as he got to his feet and forced his body to try and relax.

"Shit." Naruto grumbled, rubbing his sternum. It may have been an illusion, but it still felt like he had got pummeled. He sucked in a breath, making sure his lungs still worked. As it was, he still felt like his ribs had been caved into his chest by the blows.

"Congratulations." Ibiki said, staring at him carefully, "You managed to break out of one of my genjutsu."

"Yeah, thanks." Naruto said, one hand still on his chest. "What the hell was that?"

Ibiki rolled his shoulders in a shrug, not answering.

"Fine." Naruto scowled and formed a familiar seal, knowing that Ibiki wouldn't answer. Ibiki was more stubborn than Naruto about some things. Trying to get information out of the man that he didn't want to give was flat out impossible and Naruto knew it. The boy wouldn't become the head of the ANBU interrogation unit because of his looks.

"Shadow Clone!"

"You think I can't put a clone under a genjutsu?" Ibiki commented, looking at the two-dozen clones massed against him. "Shadow clones are solid."

"I don't really care if you can or not." Naruto said. "I just don't want to get touched by you again. I don't like genjutsus. They're a pain in the ass, and yours are even worse. I still feel like I can't breathe."

Ibiki grinned at him and ran his eyes over the clones. "Guess I just have to find the real you, then."

"Good luck." Naruto offered as the masked clones began to charge.

oooOoooOoooOooo

"He broke it." Genma said, stunned.

"Is that significant?" Asuma asked, looking at Genma's shocked expression, the senbon hanging precariously from his loose expression.

Genma nodded and pulled the needle out of his mouth before he lost it, "Morino's genjutsu attacks are touch based, but are impossible to break."

"Guess they're not so unbreakable, huh?" Asuma said.

"You don't get it, Sarutobi." Genma said, looking at the younger boy out of the corner of his eyes, "The Morino family genjutsus have been used in the ANBU interrogations department since Konoha's founding. I don't think they've ever been broken."

Asuma's eyebrows rose and he looked back to the two combatants in the field. "Kinatsu doesn't seem all that hurt by it."

Genma shrugged and didn't respond. He couldn't explain it anyways.

oooOoooOoooOooo

Naruto's clones attacked Ibiki in sets of two to four, landing hits and strikes as they could before either jumping away or poofing out of existence. Ibiki scowled at them as he struck out, and kept one eye on the few that hung back towards the outside of the circling clones around him. All of them attacked him, but there was one only one that had taken a hit and not dissolved into smoke.

"I found you." Ibiki grinned darkly and charged through the clones, feeling satisfaction as his target's eyes widened at his approach. He struck out with one fist and as the blonde dodged to the side Ibiki fisted his other hand in his coat, dragging him back in front of him. Naruto stared at him as Ibiki cocked his fist again.

"You're the real one." Ibiki said and swung, connecting his fist to the side of Naruto's head with a sickening thunk. Naruto reeled back, his coat still caught by Ibiki's hand. He turned back to the larger boy still holding onto him and smirked beneath his mask.

"Not quite." Naruto said, grabbing the man's vest and pulling him in closer. "I'm just the bait."

Ibiki's eyes widened as the man in his grasp seemed to glow from the inside and suddenly exploded in his face.

Naruto shielded his eyes from the blast of his clone and watched as Ibiki was thrown backwards. Ibiki landed harshly, skidding across the ground for a good bit before stopping, slumped near bonelessly on the ground. Naruto's clones dissipated around him and Naruto walked over to his comatose opponent.

Ibiki looked a little worse for wear. His clothes were charred and he had lost his hitai-ate, barring the shock of brown hair on his head. Ibiki groaned and cracked one eye open as Naruto stood over him.

"An exploding clone?" Ibiki asked, trying and failing to rise.

"Bunshin Bakuha." Naruto said. "Clone explosion."

"It took hits." Ibiki said.

Naruto nodded. "Yes. I can hold my clones long enough for them to receive injuries if I want to. I knew that you would target the version of me that didn't dissolve upon being struck."

"Heh. So you set a trap."

Naruto nodded with a small smile. "Yeah."

"Nice job, Kinatsu." Ibiki said and closed his eyes.

Nauto stepped away from him and watched as he was carried from the field. He would be fine, Naruto knew. He had used a weaker version of the exploding clone rather than the more fatal Great Clone Explosion. He didn't want to kill the guy after all. As the medics left with Ibiki two others entered the field. Naruto watched them with only minor interest. He knew that both were Jonin and had made short work of the Chunin unlucky enough to have faced them in the first round of matches with the Jonin. Both had only fought one match each, choosing not to fight each other as the tournament was more for the Chunin and not the Jonin. One of them would be his next and last opponent. Naruto wasn't sure what they were both doing on the field now, though.

"Well, what do you say, Nara?" one of them said. Naruto looked at the Nara, finding the man to look remarkably like Shikimaru. Naruto knew that this was his friend's father, Shikaku, though Naruto had only met the man a few times in his past, and not at all as Kinatsu.

"Fine." Shikaku said, glancing at the man next to him in a somewhat exasperated way. "Whatever."

"Good." The man said, giving Naruto a smirk and turned towards the Hokage's seat in the stands. "Hokage-sama!" he called, "We wish to face this Chunin together, with your permission."

Minato looked at the two Jonin and then at Naruto, not responding right away. Naruto looked at his two opponents again, recognizing that the young man was an Uchiha and likely lived up to his clan's elite status. He knew that Shikaku was smart. Shikamaru had said on more than one occasion that his father was smarter than him. Naruto knew that facing one of them would be a challenge, but facing them both at once would be even harder.

"Oi, oi!" Naruto said, "Two on one isn't fair, you know."

"Life isn't always fair, little Chunin." The Uchiha said.

Naruto scowled.

"No Chunin has ever won these trials." Shikaku said, looking between them with slight boredom.

"Heh. There's a first time for everything." Naruto said. "And I kind of like the idea of winning this thing."

"I'm not about to let you." Uchiha said, "Not on my watch."

Naruto grinned and raised his hands to rest behind his head, turning to face the Fourth. "Alright! I'll take them on, Yondaime!" he said, his grin widening as both the Jonin turned a scowl towards him.

Minato chuckled and sat back in his seat. "Very well, Kinatsu. I doubt I could refuse now that you have so boldly laid your challenge."

Naruto gave him a grin, hidden behind his mask.

"You're confident, blondie." The Uchiha said. "Too confident."

Naruto shrugged and took a few steps back, putting the proper space between them for the start of the match. "So are you, Uchiha." He said.

"Heh. You obviously don't know what you're dealing with."

"Of course I do." Naruto said, "I'm not worried." Naruto grinned at them and watched in satisfied amusement as both of them gave him dark looks.

"Alright." The referee said, stepping up between them. "The final match of the Jonin Trials. Chunin Kinatsu versus Jonin Nara Shikaku and Uchiha Hiroi. Begin."

Naruto didn't move as he watched his two opponents. Nara stood in a slightly slouched position, one hand in a pocket and the other resting in the crook of his neck. The pose was strongly reminiscent of his future son, and it was only the scars stretched across his cheek and forehead and the ratted looking jacket over his vest that made Shukaku stand out from Shikimaru in Naruto's mind. The Uchiha had settled into an easy ready stance, his feet apart with one more forward than the other and his hands resting near weapon pouches. It was a stance that Naruto recognized. It was the same stance that Sasuke and Itachi both used. Though while Hiroi generally looked like an Uchiha, there was a spattering pattern of new scars that stretched down the side of his face and disappeared beneath the collar of his shirt. They were still red, and pulled at the untouched skin of his face and neck in a strange way. Naruto recognized them immediately – not the wound specifically, but the pattern of the scaring. It was from a burn, but not just any burn. It was the fire of the Kyubi's chakra that had caused the damage. Naruto knew it well. He would recognize such a wound immediately. The fox's firey chakra burned and seared in a lightning-arced pattern that wasn't just fire, but seemed to be fire laced with searing lightning.

Uchiha Hiroi had faced the attack of the Kyubi and survived. Naruto was impressed. He would also have to be careful. Surviving such an extensive burn from the Kyubi's chakra proved the man's resilience.

Naruto stood as he had been, his own feet apart, but not dropped into a ready fighting stance. He was tired. His body was strained from the continued matches and use of chakra, and his weapons supplies was running thin. He had not expected to face two Jonin in the final match, though he was excited at the prospect and challenge. _'I just wish the damn fox hadn't left a hole in my head.'_

He was feeling the absence of the Kyubi greatly now that his own chakra stores were low. His body still healed quickly, but not as fast as it once had, and he knew that he no longer had the vast resource that was the Kyubi's chakra to draw on. And now he had to face the tag-team effect of one of the greatest Konoha tacticians and an elite bloodline limit.

"Not fun." He mumbled, letting his body drop a little as he continued to watch his two opponents.

The Uchiha made the first move.

Hiroi moved forward in a quick glide, his eyes alighting into the Sharingan as he moved towards him. Naruto pulled a kunai and sidestepped as the Uchiha got close, dodging the slicing strike of the man's hand. Hiroi turned and stabbed, his fingers pulled tight together in a flat blade as he aimed his strike. Naruto deflected the strike, and aimed his own punch. Hiroi tilted his head out of the way and grabbed his wrist, pulling hard. Naruto took a step forward to keep his balance, already swinging his other hand with the kunai as the Uchiha's second fist connected painfully with his stomach.

Naruto grunted, feeling chakra push at his gut from the man's fist. He forced his arm to cooperate and finished his swing, slicing his kunai sloppily across the Uchiha's shoulder and collar. The chakra at his middle flared and died and Hiroi released his wrist as Naruto was pushed backwards by the force of the blow, the air in his lungs rushing out in a gush.

His feet skidded on the dirt and he reached a hand down to rest on his knee as he gulped deep breaths of air into his abused middle. The physical blow hadn't hurt him much, but the chakra laced into the swing had beat deep into his gut, making it a chore to just breath. The muscles of his stomach rippled and clenched in response.

"You're slow, Chunin." The Uchiha said.

Naruto glanced up and glared at the Sharingan looking disdainfully down at him. _'Damn all Uchiha's.'_ He thought. _'They're all a pain in the ass.'_

Naruto straightened as his lungs began to relax back into something like normal. Hiroi looked at him with a hint of surprise, as if Naruto's ability to breathe was unexpected – and it likely was. The chakra-laden fist to his gut had struck right at his diaphragm.

"You're overconfident." Naruto said, slipping one hand into the tool pouch behind his back, feeling the edges of the thin parchments of his tags beneath his fingers.

"Heh." The Uchiha charged and Naruto responded in kind, his kunai glinting in the sunlight. They parried quickly, Naruto forcing his body to find speed that it didn't want to give as he tried to match the Uchiha. Hiroi's strikes didn't hit him physically hard, but seemed to be laced with chakra that enhanced the damage and strength of his hits. Naruto gritted his teeth through the flares of pain each time one of the Uchiha's strikes made it past his guard – which was far more than he was happy with. The Uchiha's Sharingan put him at a disadvantage and he knew it. Naruto didn't have the natural speed needed to work against the Sharingan eyes – eyes that saw at a level of detail that made speed nearly a null point. Hiroi's speed could keep up with anything that Naruto tried to draw on.

The Sharingan's tomoes swirled lazily as they traded blows, pulling up a host of memories laden with emotional baggage, and laying Sasuke's face over that of Hiroi's. Naruto narrowed his eyes and focused on the match and his slowly laid trap, trying to push away his thoughts of his old friend and teammate. Hiroi fought so much like Sasuke had – before Sasuke had gone to Orochimaru. Before Sasuke had incorporated Orochimaru's Snake Form of taijutsu into the Uchiha family's original form. Hiroi's style matched more closely to Itachi's, what little of Itachi's form Naruto recognized.

Naruto swung wide with one arm and froze, the muscles in his arms flexing sharply as his body refused to obey and move. He glanced down with his eyes, unable to move anything else, and saw a dark shadow stretched out across the ground of the arena. He followed it, knowing what he'd find, and saw Shikaku kneeling not far away, his hands clasped before him as the man held the jutsu.

_'Shit.'_ He had forgotten about that. _'Damn, I was almost ready.'_

A hard blow crashed into the side of his head and his body flew backwards as the jutsu holding him broke. Naruto rolled awkwardly and pushed himself up to his knees, rubbing his head as pain flared across his skull. His vision blacked out for a moment and a feeling of vertigo swept over him, nearly sending him back to the ground again. He squeezed his eyes shut and then open again, trying to force himself to remain conscious. His head pounded painfully and he was seeing white spots in front of the narrowed field of vision that he still had.

"Damnit, Uchiha!" Shikaku yelled. "We were connected!"

Naruto glanced at the Nara, finding him sprawled backwards and glaring at Hiroi, who didn't look the least bit apologetic. Naruto pulled a kunai from the pouch on his leg and got to his feet – then promptly tumbled back to the ground as his vision swam and his balance tipped sideways. He sat stunned for a second, trying to figure out why he was back on the ground as he held his head in one hand again.

"Ow." Naruto stared a bit wide-eyed at the three Uchiha's he saw in front of him, all three staring down at him with a smirk and slowly spinning Sharingan. "Damnit, when did you make the clones?"

The three Hiroi's glanced at his partner then turned back to him with a wide smirk, their movements mirroring each other perfectly. Naruto shifted and tried to stand again, making it to his feet so long as he leaned heavily on his knees to keep his balance as vertigo swam through his head.

"You're done, Chunin." Hiroi said. Naruto ignored him, focusing his gaze on the small pebbles on the ground between his feet. The dizziness was slowly fading, making it easier for him to stand and feel less like he was about to throw up.

"That hit likely gave you a concussion." Shikaku said, then grumbled, "It nearly gave _me_ whiplash."

"Hear that, Chunin?" the Uchiha said, "A concussion makes it virtually impossible to mold chakra. This match is all but over."

"Not done yet." Naruto said quietly.

"What was that?"

Naruto looked up enough to pin the Uchiha with a narrowed gaze, "I said, I'm not done yet."

Hiroi's Sharingan spun a bit faster as the man glared back at him. Naruto was no longer seeing triples, but his head was pounding in complaint, and his body was exhausted. He let his eyes flicker side to side of the Uchiha's head anyways, letting the other think that the concussion was still affecting him. Hiroi's smirk turned victorious.

"You're still seeing double, Chunin." He said. "You couldn't hit me if you tried."

Naruto smirked behind his scarf. "Don't need to hit you."

"Oh?"

Naruto shook his head slowly side to side and held up one hand, a single slim piece of parchment tucked between his fingers, barely visible. Hiroi narrowed his eyes on it, and Naruto let the man try to read the scripts and symbols inked onto the surface. Naruto moved his arm in a lazy manner, laying the tag on the ground at his feet with a growing grin. Hiroi followed the tag's progress carefully.

Nothing happened and the Uchiha looked back at him with a somewhat puzzled and triumphant expression. Naruto merely grinned wider, and channeled chakra into his fingers, seeing the glow of blue chakra from the corner of his eyes. The tag flared brightly as it was activated and script stretched outward from the tag in long lines, reaching across the floor of the arena with lightning speed. The black ink of the script lines flared blue, and highlighted the field they created. Tags flared brightly in turn as the script reached them and moved onwards, encircling the three combatants in a wide hexagonal field with criss-crossing lines connecting each of the six corners.

"What is this?" Hiroi demanded, his feet planted firmly in the center of the glowing field.

"Fuinjutsu (5)." Naruto said calmly. "A seal technique."

"A seal!"

Naruto nodded, not bothering to hide his grin. "A field created with a series of tags, that when activated closes the circle and traps those within it."

Hiroi looked at him sharply, his eyes flickering down to Naruto's feet on the edge of the script lines. Naruto nodded, he was within the field as well.

"You would set off an attack that would hit you as well?" Shikaku asked.

Naruto shot the man a mischievous grin. "Who said it was an attack?"

Shikaku's eyes narrowed slightly in a manner that reminded Naruto of Shikamaru again. It was the look that told him the Nara was thinking and had a suspicion already, even if it was unproven.

"It's not an attack?" Shikaku asked.

Naruto shook his head, watching the two as they studied the scripts of the seal spread out around and under them. He let them study it, not terribly worried that they would figure it out. He needed the time. Naruto didn't move, his fingers still resting lightly on the tag under him, chakra laced lightly through them, feeding the seal.

"Shit!" Shikaku spat out. Naruto looked over at him, finding the Nara to be staring at him with a somewhat shocked expression, though he had otherwise not moved. Naruto watched the other for a moment, seeing the subtle signs of emotions play across the man's face. Shikaku moved suddenly, heading straight towards the nearest edge of the hexagonal field.

Naruto cringed slightly and braced himself as the Nara crossed the outside edge of the seal. Chakra pulled from his fingers and the script lines flared white, blinding him momentarily, and then a silent wave of force blasted across the seal field. Naruto gritted his teeth, his eyes closed against the bright flare of chakra, as a gale-force wind pounded against him, whistling in his ears and tugging at his hair and clothes. Dirt and stones whipped around him, pelting him. The wind whistled and spun, carrying fine grains of sand and dirt along with it. He pumped chakra through his feet, holding him to his crouched spot as the seal pulled more chakra from him to feed the field, brightening the white light past his closed eyes.

The wind died slowly, whistling past him with a soft sigh and Naruto stopped feeding the seal. He opened his eyes, staring down at the floor before his feet as he tried to catch his breath. The dirt was grooved into a haphazard pattern of swirls and spirals. Sand dusted his feet and the tops of his knees, and he felt the gentle weight of the substance on his shoulders and head. He raised his head slowly, his body protesting the movement and sand slid from his hair to fall around him. The wind damage covered an area past that of the seal, which was slowly fading away. A large circle of swirled grooves stretched before him, bare of any grass or stones and leaving only a fine layer of sand. The effect looked like a meditation garden with the sand raked into patterns. Hiroi and Shikaku lay downed in the aftermath, their clothing a bit tattered with a soft layer of light sand and dirt covering them.

In the center of the circular area of damage stood two of Naruto's clones. They were breathing hard and their clothing was as tattered as the other's. Naruto was sure his own looked much the same. Sand dusted their hair and shoulders.

"Garden Sandstorm." Naruto mumbled, vaguely wishing that Gaara was there to take advantage of the sand his technique had created, or Hinata to mumble appreciations for the spiral designs raked into the field.

Shikaku shifted, trying to raise himself with his hands. He groaned and looked around him, settling his gaze first on the two wind-swept clones and then on Naruto.

"Light?"

Naruto nodded slowly, his body feeling extremely sluggish and weak.

"The seal," Shikaku started and then began again, "It only generated light."

"Yes." Naruto said, shifting his fingers over the spent tag beneath them. "Once activated it flares when someone crosses the outside barrier. I can continually feed chakra into it to prolong the effect, otherwise it is just a bright flare of light that lasts a second or two. Enough to shock and blind."

"It was a distraction." Shikaku said.

"Yes."

"I thought I heard them digging under us." Shikaku said, looking back at the clones.

"Probably." Naruto conceded. He wasn't always the most silent when underground, especially when in a hurry and trying to execute a jutsu before his opponent ran out of the area of effect. He appreciated Shikaku letting him know that his clones hadn't been quiet enough. It was a weakness that had tipped the Nara off, and not all ninjas would have offered the criticism so that Naruto could fix the mistake.

"Heh." Shikaku tried to move again, pushing his body off the ground before letting himself fall back down with a sigh. He let his body settle into the thin layer of sand covering the ground, looking for all the world as if he had meant to be there only to lay down lazily. Shikaku glanced at Hiroi, the Uchiha's unconscious body moving only with the light breaths of his breathing. Hiroi had been near the center of circle, close to the clones and therefore got hit the hardest with the wind technique.

"Hiroi isn't going to be pleased." Shikaku said. "A Chunin has never won this thing before."

Naruto chuckled with a grin and suddenly gasped, rocking backwards to plop onto the floor as his body spasmed a bit. He sat upright, his legs spread in front of him as he concentrated on his breathing as his vision began to black out. The last thing he saw was the twin plumes of smoke from his dissipating clones.

oooOoooOoooOooo

**Author's Note:**

Here's the Japanese used this chapter:

1)Hiraishin – the Fourth Hokage's technique that gave him the name Yellow Flash. It is a seal-based technique that allows him to teleport to the location of pre-placed sealing tags. He also wraps the tags around kunai handles to throw.

2)Taijutsu – hand to hand techniques. (or martial arts) Think Rock Lee.

3)Genjutsu – illusionary techniques. Naruto sucks at these… still.

4)Ninjutsu – ninja techniques. Any technique that uses chakra.

5)Fuinjutsu – seal techniques.

New Original Characters: Shimizu Nanami, Mori Aoi, Haro, Iwabuta, Ishikawa Mizu and Uchiha Hiroi. I know there are quite a few OC's in this thing, and they seem to be just taking up space sometimes, but there's a pretty big gap in this generation I felt I needed to flesh out a bit, and you'll be seeing these guys reappear throughout the story.


	5. URABANASHI story not generally known

**Author's Mistake:** I've made a translation mistake (in chapter 2) with the term 'gosai-ani' (for those of you who recall it). Gosai does not mean 'yellow'. It means something closer to five colors, and it also means 'second wife' according the source I typically use. Needless to say, I've been using it wrongly. It has been replaced with a more accurate term: kiiroi (and thus, Kiiroi-ani). (Thanks, _Serenarey Chiba_ and _Reaper Nanashi,_ especially, for pointing it out to me) and sorry for any confusion I've caused.

_Reaper Nanashi_, thank you for an amazing, constructive review. It will undoubtedly help me greatly, and I will be taking your comments into account. Thanks.

**Disclaimer:** Naruto and etc. aren't mine, but there is a growing collection of original characters that will undoubtedly make their appearances.

oooOoooOoooOooo

**Namikaze Brothers **Arc One : Magirekomu Bettenchi(to be lost in another world)

By Renatus

Chapter 05 – Urabanashi (story not generally known)

oooOoooOoooOooo

_Six weeks after arrival…_

_'Chakra exhaustion sucks.'_ Naruto thought, staring off without really seeing anything. He didn't have much to look at anyways. He was not in any pain, in fact he felt quite refreshed if a little stiff. He figured he would have had a couple days of bruises from Hiroi's chakra-laden strikes, but he had slept through any healing he did. Naruto stared at the ceiling of his hospital room with barely contained boredom and frustration. He had woken in the hospital the day before – after nearly a week of being asleep – and had been itching to escape since he discovered that he could move. As it was the medic nin had tied him to his bed to keep him from – "running off before your body is ready and doing something stupid."

He was pretty sure that that medic had taken lessons from Tsunade.

Naruto heaved a sigh and wiggled his arms, feeling the pull of the rope twisted around the length of his arms and legs dig into his skin a bit. It attached him to the bed quite effectively.

"Need a rope escape jutsu." He grumbled, staring straight up at the smooth plastered ceiling.

"I've never heard of that one."

Naruto raised his head and saw the Fourth standing in the doorway, a slightly crooked smile on his face.

"It's obscure." Naruto retorted, then shook his arms sharply. "Let me out!"

Minato laughed and entered the room, closing the door behind him. "They had to tie you down?"

"You're the Hokage. You can order them to let me go."

"They've never done that to me."

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the other blonde. "That's because you can just flash your way out of places like this. They wouldn't have even seen you with that stupid Hiraishin."

Minato's grin widened. "True."

Naruto scowled and flopped back onto the bed.

"They told me you were suffering from a mild case of chakra exhaustion." Minato said.

"Mild? I slept for a week!"

"Is that unusual for you?"

Naruto tilted his head up enough to look at him. "Yea. I usually don't need to rest up that long. Or at all."

"But you no longer have the Kyubi."

Naruto nodded and let his head fall back to the bed. "Yea."

The Fourth watched him for a moment before speaking again. "Your level of chakra exhaustion wasn't serious, but coupled with the mild concussion and some of your physical weariness, your body simply needed to rest. It is a natural process of healing for ninjas after so much exertion. No doubt your body has been trying to accustom itself to the Kyubi's absence as well."

"Makes sense." Naruto said, " The end of the trials is the first time since I arrived that I actually got to the point that I would have pulled on the Kyubi's chakra. And my rate of healing is lower than it was, now."

"That is expected. But it is still far faster than normal."

Naruto didn't say anything. It was strange for him to need to sleep for so long after such a mild case of exhaustion. He had barely ever experienced chakra exhaustion. Chakra overload was a more common ailment for him, what with the Kyubi's seemingly endless supply of chakra that he could draw on. The sheer weariness that came with chakra exhaustion was a strange feeling to him. He wasn't used to it.

"I would recommend chakra control exercises." Minato said. "It'll help you develop your chakra reserves, and more importantly, give you a better feel for what you are capable of."

"Tree climbing it is, then." Naruto mumbled, making a face. "Or maybe water walking." That was a bit more interesting than trees. Maybe he could find a waterfall to play with for a good challenge. Water walking up a waterfall always made for a good workout. And something fun to show off to over-proud Uchihas who couldn't do it.

"Well done in the Trials, Naruto." Minato said, his voice clear but soft.

Naruto blinked and looked at the other man. He hadn't heard his name spoken aloud in over a month. He had even started to think of himself as 'Kinatsu' at times. It was almost strange to hear his name again. It was something else entirely to hear it from his father, with the man's voice laced with a note of pride that Naruto had so seldom heard directed to him. The Yondaime was standing near him, looking down at him with an expression that Naruto had seen so often on the faces of the parents of his peers – an expression that he recognized but had never had directed really at him. He had seen traces of it from Kakashi and Jiraiya, and even from Tsunade. But Minato was his father, looking at him with pride.

"Thanks." Naruto said, trying to figure out what he was feeling while he stared at the man.

The Fourth met his gaze for a minute before nodding. "You showed your skills and abilities off nicely, and handled your opponents well. I think you impressed quite a few people. Nara Shikaku especially."

Naruto blinked and shook his head. "I think I managed to piss off the Uchiha. He didn't seem to like the idea of a Chunin winning the tournament."

"Hiroi?" Minato asked. Naruto nodded. "He'll get over it. He underestimated you, even after all the matches you had and won. He shouldn't have done so and paid the price for his overconfidence. He'll learn from it."

Naruto nodded again, wondering if he would have to steer clear of the Uchiha compound for a while. Ninja's tended to like to get even, and he was pretty sure that he should expect some form of retaliation from Hiroi for beating him so publicly, especially after Hiroi had sworn not to let him win.

"I wouldn't be surprised if someone submitted your name to be considered for Jonin rank." Minato said, settling into the chair beside his bed – Naruto had to crane his neck further in order to look at him properly. "You could also petition your own name if you had a Jonin to second your request. There is no guarantee that you would make Jonin, but the option is there for you."

"Really?" Naruto asked, a little surprised. "But I just made Chunin."

"Not officially."

"What?"

"Your file states that you came to Konoha as a Chunin, and that you had been one since you were thirteen." Minato said. "I merely tested your skills as a new Shinobi to Konoha."

Naruto thought about that for a minute. He had only ever taken one Chunin exam – which got interrupted quite spectacularly. He had always been a Genin. His rank had never stopped him from getting assigned missions of a high grade, nor did it ever hold him back from doing what he had to do. While his friends and peers had each raised among the ranks, he had never bothered to retake the Chunin exam and try for Chunin again. He hadn't really had the time, and he had barely ever thought about it.

"What else does my file say?"

"Not much." Minato smiled a bit. "Without you taking missions, and you being so new to Konoha, there isn't much to put in your file. It's been updated somewhat since the Trials to include some of your skill sets; your stamina, use of the Shadow Clones and your wind element. It doesn't say that you know fuinjutsu, however."

"Why not? I used it at the Trials. Everyone saw it."

"They saw you use seals, but they don't know who made them."

"Why keep it out of my file?"

Minato leaned back in the chair and regarded him. "How much do you know about creating seals?"

"A bit I guess. Ero-sennin taught me a bit about them, and I figured some stuff out on my own."

"Did you create the tags you used to make the flash seal in the Trials?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. I actually drew them out a couple weeks ago. Along with a lot of others. I've been bored, so I've been making tags."

"What sort of tags?"

"Exploding tags mostly. And those flash seal tags, and some other field-based tags. I like to use tags to make seal fields. They're quicker than trying to draw a seal in the middle of a battle. And less obvious."

"Can you tell me what your level of skill is?"

Naruto shrugged. "Dunno. Never really thought about it."

"Think about it." The Fourth said. Naruto started a bit at the Hokage's tone, raising his shoulders and head up so he could look at the man more fully. The Fourth's expression was serious, and Naruto wondered why his skill level with seal techniques was so important.

"Kinatsu, do you know how rare a Seal Master is in the ninja world?" Minato asked.

Naruto shook his head. "I guess not. Ninjas use tags all the time. They're considered seals. So I guess they aren't that rare."

"Exploding tags aren't difficult to draw up." Minato said, "Half or more of the Jonin level Shinobi can draw an exploding tag."

"Ok."

"Seal fields, however, are much more difficult."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, I know. They're dependant on more variables and are more unstable compared to the exploding tags."

"You don't understand." The Fourth said, narrowing his eyes a bit, "The skill and knowledge to create a successful seal that affects the environment – a seal field – is rare. Even rarer is the ability to do so using multiple paper tags. The theory exists, and I've heard rumors, but I've never actually seen anyone do that before."

Naruto stared. "But…" Naruto shook his head, "You use tags for your Hiraishin. Those are seals."

"Single tag seals that do not have to interact with each other."

"So…" Naruto felt his face scrunch up as he thought. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying, Kinatsu, that your ability to create a set of tags that interact directly and specifically with each other is a skill that I have never seen before, especially in order to create a seal field on the arena of battle."

"Oh."

Minato chuckled lightly, looking away and towards the window in the room. "Ninjas who use seals in a combat situation are highly rare. Few have the opportunity or time to draw a seal and then lure their opponent into its range. A Seal Master is capable of doing a great amount of damage to his opponent and their environment if they can choose their field of battle – which is a rare thing when fighting ninja. No ninja will easily submit to your choice of battlefield. Your skill in creating tags that interact with each other to create a seal field – which you can carry with you and place in moments wherever you desire – could be greatly advantageous."

Naruto let his body fall back to the bed, watching his father out of the corner of his eyes. Minato continued to look out the window while Naruto took in his words. He hadn't really thought about the tactical advantages of his tag seals. Thinking of them as portable seal fields – which usually have to be drawn onto whatever surface they are affecting – was an interesting way to view them. He had never thought about it. He had never really had the time to, either.

"I didn't place that in your file, because I don't want just anyone to know you can do that." Minato said, turning back to look at him again.

"Why?"

"Partially because it is a unique skill that I want to keep from any enemies as long as possible. Konoha has just recently come out of a war. Even though the war is over, and has been for about a year, we still have enemies. Also, so that the council does not try to push you into spending all your time creating portable seal fields for every ninja in the village." Minato grinned at him. "There is a reason why Seal Masters are rarely also active ninja. Most who have the skill to create decent seals and tags spend most of their time stocking shops and selling their wares to their villages."

Naruto crossed his eyes and made a face of disgust. He had no desire to get pushed into being a shopkeeper. Minato chuckled lightly at his side, and Naruto turned his head to look at him.

"So you want me to keep it a secret." Naruto said.

"You can use them." The Fourth said. "But keep your ability to create them to yourself. Only reveal it if absolutely necessary. I want you to be able to prove yourself as an active Shinobi before the council gets it into their heads that you'd be better off serving Konoha creating tags all day long."

"Alright." Naruto said, "I can do that."

"And think about your skill level." Minato added. "I still want to know just how good you are at making seals."

"I can show you."

"How?"

"I kept notes." Naruto said. "My memory wasn't always so good, so I started writing things down. I don't need to so much anymore, but I still have my developmental and learning notes for some of the seals I've made."

"You still have them?"

Naruto nodded, "Yea. I've got them hidden in a scroll."

"Destroy them."

"What? Why?"

"So they don't fall into enemy hands." Minato said, looking at him as though Naruto should have known that already. Naruto looked back at him with a blank face for a moment then grinned.

"They're in code."

The Fourth blinked and Naruto's grin widened. "Ero-sennin taught me codes, too. I didn't get them at first, and I was horrible at writing in code, and I still can't break codes much. But Ero-sennin can't read mine. He never did figure it out. He thought I was just making it up and that my scrolls didn't actually say anything real at all. He complained about my faulty codes for years."

Minato was silent for a moment before bursting into laughter, making Naruto's wide grin widen more as he watched his father laugh. Minato smiled and chuckled easily, Naruto had noticed, but his laughter seemed like a rare thing. Naruto had barely heard he or Kushina truly laugh. The sight of either of them feeling happy enough to do so sparked some emotion deep inside him that he couldn't really identify.

"That must have just rubbed him raw." Minato said, still chuckling. "Jiraiya-sensei had always prided himself on his coding skills."

Naruto made a content sound and settled back into his pillow.

"Speaking of," The Fourth said, "Jiraiya-sensei is back."

"Really?"

"He came to deliver a report and see if the council has finally agreed to put you on active duty."

"Did they?" Naruto asked, eager for the answer. The Jonin Trials had taken the edge off of his energy, but he was getting a little stir-crazy. He had never been on such a long stretch of inactive status before and he was desperate to start missions again. He was almost to the point of willingly taking a D-ranked mission. He'd even go after that thrice-damned cat that went missing every week – anything for a mission.

Minato gave him a bright grin. "Yes."

Naruto let out a woop and tried to sit up again, only to be tugged back to the bed by the ropes, cutting his celebration off with a sudden jolt.

"Damn." He grumbled, glaring at the ropes wrapped around his limbs. He ignored the chuckles of his father, and instead wiggled in the barely-there slack of his bindings. The medic had been very good at making knots.

"He'll be leaving again in the morning." Minato said. "You're going with him. Come by my office this afternoon and I'll give you both a briefing. I also need to brief you on your backstory."

"Sure." Naruto said, still glaring at his ropes as the Fourth got to his feet. "You got an idea for a history?"

Minato grinned, "Yes. One that will fit rather well."

"Really?"

"And bring by those seal notes of yours." Minato said, not answering his question.

Naruto frowned but nodded and glanced up at the man as he started towards the door. "Hey, Yondaime!"

"I've got paperwork to do." The Hokage said with a nonchalant wave over his shoulder.

"Kiiroi-ani (1)!" Naruto called out, staring incredulously as the man left the room and closed the door behind him. Naruto stared at the door for a second before struggling against his bonds again.

"Hey! Let me out of here!" Naruto yelled after him. "Damnit."

oooOoooOoooOooo

The Hokage's office at the top of the tower was empty save for two. The Fourth Hokage leaned far back in his chair behind the wide desk and stared up at the ceiling, while his old sensei stood against the wall behind him. Jiraiya stared as well, his eyes fixed somewhere on the floor at his feet while he stood with his arms crossed loosely over his chest. The soft sounds of the village sounded through the cracked windows, and they could hear the muffled sounds of the Hokage's assistants move outside the door.

"I've been hearing rumors, Minato." Jiraiya said, not moving.

"There are always rumors, Jiraiya-sensei."

"These could be dangerous."

Minato sighed, and shifted enough to see the older man from the corner of his eyes. It was rare for the older man to take on such a serious air, even with the recent war. Jiraiya had been one of the few bright spots in Konoha during the Ninja War. The battles and planning and missions had not seemed to affect the man's daily routine or outlook much. So the man's seriousness bespoke of something to take note of. "What's bothering you?"

Jiraiya met his eyes and held them for a few long minutes, each man looking at the other, quiet and questioning, waiting.

"You know the rumors about the Uchiha clan." Jiraiya said, his voice quiet, barely carrying the short distance between them.

The Hokage nodded. He had heard more than he cared to. The Uchiha's were a powerful clan, both politically and in skill. They were considered the elite, and not just of Fire Country. There were many rumors about that clan, more so than there was for any other Minato had heard. But he knew which rumors Jiraiya spoke of. They were the rumors that were dangerous, and not just for the Uchiha and those tied to them. They were dangerous for the entire village. Rumors that the Uchiha held some sort of power over the tailed-beasts. Minato had heard them, and not just from Jiraiya. Since the Kyubi's attack and withdrawal on Konoha, the rumors had been easy to hear. People were talking, looking for reasons why the devastating force of nature that was the Kyubi would attack Konoha and then stop so suddenly – and retreat.

"The village is whispering, Minato." Jiraiya continued, breaking into his thoughts. "They're looking for somewhere to point. They only need a reason, any reason would do, and they're looking for it in the Uchiha."

"I'm sure that the clan is aware of this." Minato said, "They will be careful."

"For a while, perhaps." Jiraiya shifted and let his head fall back to the wall, his eyes raking across the ceiling before returning to the blond at the desk. Jiraiya watched his old student for a while, both silent in the warm afternoon. "It's leaking out that the one who attacked Kushina had the Sharingan. It's well known that she was pregnant. It's no longer a secret that the two of you are together. You know what that adds up to, Minato."

Minato nodded once and turned his chair away from the other man. "Yes."

He knew. He was the Hokage, the leader of one of the greatest ninja villages in the elemental countries. And one of his own village's clans-members had attacked and killed his son. Even if the one who attacked Kushina was not an accepted member of the Uchiha clan, he still bore the Sharingan. What was worse, was that the man was unclaimed. No one knew who he was or where he came from. The Uchiha clan had only sought to claim the man's body to keep the Sharingan within their clan, but they did not explain where he had come from. Minato knew the truth; that Madara had come from some future or other timeline, but that was a classified fact and he was going to keep it that way if he could. But the village did not know the man's origins. They saw only a man with the Sharingan – a bloodline jealously guarded by its clan, attack the wife of their Hokage. Minato knew well what that added up to. Jiraiya was right. If given a reason, any reason, the village would point their collective fingers straight at the Uchiha clan and the clan would retaliate. Retaliation from ninjas was never a simple thing, and the Uchiha clan was among the best.

Silence stretched between them, augmented by the distant sounds of the village below the window and the office outside the door. Neither spoke or moved, and then Jiraiya silently moved, his feet silent on the floor as he left the wall to stand before the window. The chair creaked softly as Minato moved to watch the older man.

"Keep an eye on them, Minato." Jiraiya said. "There is some substance to these rumors. They may be trouble, at some time. I'm looking into it when I can."

"Focus on Akatsuki, Jiraiya-sensei." Minato said, his voice that of his station; commanding. "Let me worry about the clans."

Jiraiya turned his head to look at him, his face unreadable. He smiled widely, suddenly and shook his head. "Fine, fine, Hokage-sama."

Minato frowned, but didn't bother to speak. He could count the number of times Jiraiya had called him Hokage-sama on one hand, and none of those occasions denoted obedience from the man.

"You should ask Kinatsu about it. He mentioned something about them, didn't he?" Jiraiya said with a grin and then jumped from the window, disappearing into the village street below. Minato continued to frown after his sensei, both for the title and for the mode of his exit. He knew that Jiraiya would not stop is inquiries into the Uchiha clan, despite his order. His old sensei saw some sort of merit in the things he heard about the clan, and would follow that information, whether it was true or not and no matter that Minato said he could handle himself. It was something he was very good at, Minato knew. Jiraiya would continue to keep his ears on the Uchiha clan and anything to do with them. Minato thought he could deal with the clans and political field of Konoha without too much worry from his sensei, but he would appreciate whatever information Jiraiya dug up just the same.

A mild commotion outside his door drew him from his thoughts. He could hear the Chunin aids yelling, and another voice that was familiar, before his door was thrown open with a bang and an orange-masked blonde waltzed into his office.

"Yondaime!" Kinatsu called, raising one hand in greeting. One of the aids trailed after him, looking both highly disapproving and angry, the Chunin's hands twitched as if barely being restrained from reaching for a kunai, or Kinatsu's neck. He was deathly silent, his lips pursed harshly as he stalked and stared after the blonde, stopping behind him stiffly.

"Hey!" the second aid ran in after the two, "You can't just walk in here! He's the Hokage!"

"Yea, yea." Kinatsu said, waving one hand in a nonchalant manner, and ignoring the walking death threat of the first aid behind his shoulder. "Whatever, I know."

"You need an appointment!" the second aid continued, "Or a summons!"

"I got one." Kinatsu said, waving a finger in Minato's direction. The first aid's face darkened a bit.

"Kinatsu." Minato interjected softly - harshly, hoping to save his office from any destruction his aids and son would cause if they decided to start a brawl. All three froze and looked over at him with varying reactions. The first aid with his still stiff, angry face, Kinatsu looked a bit sheepish – his hand rubbing at the back of his head, while his second aid sighed in relief. Minato refrained from sighing himself, though barely.

"Why must you make such a commotion whenever you enter my office?"

"Well, you told me to use the door."

Minato sighed and waved for his aids to leave.

oooOoooOoooOooo

Naruto watched the aids leave in silence, not meeting either of their eyes as they did so. _'Should have just used the damned window.'_ He thought, as the door closed behind them, leaving the two blondes alone in the office. He glanced around the room once, and then strode forward, pulling the scarf from his face as he did so.

"Ne, Yondaime," Naruto said, ignoring the raised eyebrow, "I think I saw ero-sennin (2) headed towards the bathhouse a minute ago."

Minato frowned. "I'm not surprised."

"Didn't think you would be." Naruto grabbed a chair and dragged it across the room, stopping in front of the desk and plopping down on it. He sprawled his legs out in front of him and met the familiar blue eyes of his father. The same blue eyes that looked back at him in the mirror.

"So what's going on that ero-sennin feels like he needs to eavesdrop on the women's gossip?" Naruto asked.

Minato raised his eyebrows and leaned forward over his desk, clasping his fingers beneath his chin. "I wouldn't say that it's their conversation that he's interested in."

Naruto grinned, but didn't contradict his father. He knew that while Jiraiya researched his books at the women's bathhouses, he also heard an awful lot of gossip and local rumors while he was there. It was the way he worked. Naruto knew it well. He had spent nearly three years traveling with the man. He knew Jiraiya's methods of information gathering.

Naruto shrugged and let the subject drop. He knew Jiraiya was looking for something, some information, else he would have been in the office for their meeting or spending time visiting with Kushina, or at one of the gambling houses reminiscing about Tsunade, not peeping at a bunch of women from a _ninja_ village. It was asking for more trouble than he usually sought out just to research his books. Despite his curiosity, Naruto didn't need to try and pry information out of the Yondaime Hokage when all he had to do with bribe or blackmail Jiraiya later on.

"So what's the mission?" Naruto asked.

Minato was silent for a minute, then leaned back in his chair. "Jiraiya has been tracking Orochimaru since he left Konoha. That's how we found out about the Akatsuki."

"How much do you know about them?"

Minato shook his head slightly. "Very little. They consistently work in teams of two and currently seem to be more interested in raising funds than anything else. Right now they are very much beneath the radar of most villages. They keep themselves as low key as they can, considering their collective missing-nin status."

Naruto nodded.

"Right now, I just want the two of you to keep an eye on them. I'm more concerned with Orochimaru and his doings. He has a habit for experimentation and a thirst for jutsus. He's not worth sending Hunter-nin after him yet, but I want an eye kept on him and Jiraiya thinks he might be trouble."

"More than you might know." Naruto said. "He caused a lot of grief with his experiments, and not all for Konoha. He built himself his own hidden village after Akatsuki kicked him out."

"Kicked him out?"

Naruto rocked his hand from side to side. "From what I understand they highly encouraged him to leave. I think it had something to do with Itachi."

"Uchiha Itachi?" Minato raised one eyebrow. Naruto paused and thought about the Uchiha for a moment, actually trying to picture what the man would look like at this point in time, years before Naruto had ever recalled meeting the mysterious, arrogant missing-nin. Naruto didn't know the man's exact age, but he knew that he was a good few years older than Sasuke had been. Itachi had to be somewhere between four and seven, if Naruto had to guess. He wondered if he was in the Academy yet.

Naruto shook his head to try to get out thoughts of the strange almost paradox that his life had become and addressed the Hokage's question. "Yea. Orochimaru has been after the Sharingan for ages. Actually, he's kinda into any bloodline limit. Some kind of obsession for him. He wants their bodies."

Minato blinked and was silent, staring hard at him. Naruto endured the scrutiny, knowing that Minato was digesting a fact that he hadn't previously known – even if that fact was a little skewed by the time differences and Naruto's memories being what they were in relation to his situation. . Naruto could feel the man's chakra churn then disappear, as if being tightly controlled and masked. It made Naruto's instincts stir in response and he shifted slightly in his chair.

"He wants their bodies," Minato began, his voice soft but his eyes hard. "For what?"

"A host." Naruto scrunched his face, stuck out his tongue and waggled his fingers. "He made some jutsu that allows him to go from one body to the next. It's a way for him to prolong his life. He can also use any bloodlines that come with those bodies. I don't know when he started it, but I do know that Itachi wasn't his first target. I think Itachi was his second, which would mean his first was at least three years before that. Eh, maybe about four, five years from now."

"That's why he wants the Uchiha? Longevity?"

"He calls it immortality." Naruto nodded. "Any would do, but he's a prideful bastard. He'll go for the best that he can get his hands on. Itachi was too good for him to overpower, so Orochimaru lured Sasuke to him." Naruto shook his head, looking away from the Hokage, "Orochimaru will try for any bloodline or body or skills that he can."

The office descended into silence and both men let it. Naruto found it strange to be talking about things that were so well known to him and his team for so many years. With Orochimaru's interest in Sasuke and Team Seven's dogged determination to retrieve their wayward teammate, Naruto was intimately familiar with Orochimaru's desire for power and jutsus. Orochimaru had drawn power to him, luring in anyone who caught his attention or who he thought he could use. He had a special interest in bloodlines and clans.

_'The damn snake-bastard is almost as annoying as all the stupid Uchihas.'_

"I'll inform the clans to be wary of anyone with abnormal interest in them." Minato said. Naruto nodded, but knew that there wasn't much that could be told to Konoha's clan heads about Orochimaru. As of the current time, there was very little that warranted much worry about a lone missing-nin, no matter who he was. Telling the clans to be specifically watchful for Orochimaru would be a little strange, and the clans tended to be overly watchful on their own anyways. Naruto could try to warn them about the snake-sennin, but he had to be careful about what he said, and to who. He knew things about the future – or a possible future – that would be extremely odd for him to know if he let it out.

"Naruto,"

Naruto looked back at his father at the use of his name, catching the man's serious expression. "With your – history, you are privy to a great deal of information and intel."

"Yea, about that,"

Minato held up a hand and Naruto closed his mouth.

"Naruto, I trust that you are who you say you are, and this is not just because of your demonstration of the Namikaze bloodline and your physical appearances. I trust you based on my instincts and what I know of your character. And this is completely disregarding the shear strangeness of your story and the appearance of Madara." Minato shifted slightly and continued, "I am also trusting that your interests align with Konoha's. The council, however, would not be so trusting, nor would they appreciate the trust that I am placing in you."

"I understand." Naruto said, simply.

"Do you?" Minato pushed his chair back and stood. "Ignoring the fact that whatever future you lived is already changed, it is going to be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to explain how you know some of the things that you do."

"So I have to be careful with what I say." Naruto added. He had already figured that out for himself.

"Yes." Minato nodded. Naruto watched him for a bit. The Hokage stood over his desk looking back at him, looking like he wanted to say something else, but not speaking. "Yes, be careful." He said finally.

Naruto nodded slowly, wondering what else was on the man's mind, but not wanting to push it. "Sure."

"Going back to the issue of the council," Minato said, shifting to stand more comfortably. "I think I have a solution for that."

"A history for me?"

Minato nodded and reached for a folder of papers. "As of now your file does not list your origins and only includes your code name. This is working for now, but as you start to take missions and people get to know you, it won't be enough. We need to be ready for anyone who is going to come around looking for more information on you, and they will."

"Alright. What's the story?"

Minato looked at him for a minute, his eyes bright and a small smile on his face. "You will be my brother."

Naruto blinked. "Your – what?"

"You're too old to be my son without revealing your bit of time or dimensional traveling, or whatever it was that you got yourself into."

Naruto frowned, but didn't bother to defend himself about the trouble. He had known what Madara was doing, and while he hadn't exactly meant to go along with him and get stuck in some alternate timeline of his life, he had purposely put himself in Madara's jutsu in some half-brained, desperate attempt to stop him – not that it had worked. At least not in the way he had expected it to.

"Since you look so much like me, like a Namikaze," Minato continued, "You need some sort of believable tie to my father's family, or more specifically, his bloodline."

"I used the Hakinkage during the Trials." Naruto said, suddenly realizing his mistake. "Someone will figure it out eventually, that I'm from the Namikaze family."

"Yes." Minato tossed the file folder back to his desk, and sat back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest loosely. "My mother died when I was young, very young. I barely remember her. After her death my father spent more time outside of the village than it. He sought his comfort in his missions. He died on one of them, a couple years after my mother."

Naruto was speechless. He had rarely heard anything about either of his parents. Most didn't know of his heritage, and those who may have either didn't speak much of it, or refused to. That's ignoring that he had rarely ever asked about them. He had heard nothing of his grandparents. To hear his father speak of his family was like a dream he had never dared to believe in. It was one thing that he couldn't have worked for or earned like his dream to be Hokage. His parents, his family, were one of the few things he knew and acknowledged as being beyond his reach. He didn't know what to think.

"Kinatsu?"

Naruto blinked and shook his head slightly. "Heh, I didn't know that."

Minato was silent for a minute before settling more into his chair. "I see. No one told you of your family's history?"

Naruto shrugged. "No one knew I was a Namikaze. Jiraiya and Kakashi told me a little. But there wasn't much opportunity for stories."

"I will tell you."

Naruto looked up at the man suddenly, a bit surprised at his words. Minato looked back at him with an expression that Naruto didn't know and couldn't read. "Yeah, I'd like that."

Minato nodded with a smile.

"So, this history of mine," Naruto prompted, grinning. "I'm going to pose as your brother?"

"Yes. It's a plausible situation. My father took long missions and spent a lot of time outside of both Konoha and Fire Country. The possibility of him fathering another child from a woman of another country or village is quite high. You'll pose as my younger half-brother. We'll have to work out some of the details of your life story, but that will effectively explain how you have the Namikaze bloodline limit and why we look so much alike."

"That makes sense." Naruto nodded, turning the story over in his head. "It also explains why no one would know me here."

"Yes, and why I trust you."

"What about some of my techniques? The Rasengan?"

"You've been in Konoha for six weeks." Minato said, "That's more than enough time for me to have taught you the Rasengan, or at least the basics of it. This is another reason why I'm sending you with Jiraiya."

"I thought it was because of the Akatsuki and Orochimaru?"

"Jiraiya could probably handle keeping an eye on them on his own until Akatsuki starts to get more active." Minato said, "And I could have you write up reports about what you know on them without sending you outside the village to do it. No, I want you out of the village for a while and with someone who has a lot of information about Konoha and isn't someone who is known to follow all the rules."

"To explain why I know so much about Konoha." Naruto summed up, catching on to the man's train of thought. "Jiraiya would be more than willing to share information with his student's little brother if he trusted him. No matter that he shouldn't be talking about sensitive village intel, even to the Hokage's brother."

"Exactly." Minato raised an eyebrow at him, "And that's not taking into account the subtleties of your mannerisms and techniques that scream Jiraiya's teachings. You act like one of his students and the longer you are around, the more people will start to see that."

"Heh, I haven't even summoned the toads or done any of his techniques." Naruto said, "I've tried not to do anything suspicious where it could be seen."

"I don't want to know what you've done where you thought you were unseen." Minato said wryly.

Naruto scratched at the back of his neck, trying to decide if his father really didn't want to know, or if he could tell him about his new technique that Kushina nearly stumbled onto. _'Maybe another time,'_ he thought.

"You haven't summoned the toads?"

"Nope. Actually, I wasn't sure that it would work, what with the time travel or whatever, and the blood contract and all."

"Interesting. Ask Jiraiya to see the contract sometime and see if your name is on it. Then try to summon. Since the toads are summoned, essentially, from a different dimension it may be possible that your contract with them is still active. It's worth looking into. It may also help to explain how you are still here and alive, considering."

"Yeah." Naruto made a face and shook his head. He wasn't sure he ever wanted to try and figure that out. He got a headache every time he tried to reason out his own existence. His infant-self had died, but he was still there. It didn't make any sense to him. Minato's separate dimension theory hurt his head less to think about it, but he wasn't sure what he thought about it at all.

"You remember your history?" Minato asked.

Naruto nodded and thought for a moment before starting. He barely remembered his undercover lessons from the Academy, but he had witnessed Jiraiya's half-assed attempts at creating plausible back-stories for whatever cover he tried to adopt on the many occasions that he was running from crowds of angry women, or looking for information. Naruto figured that after spending nearly three years with the man that he would have learned something about it. "Your fa- my father was from Konoha and my mother was from," Naruto thought for a minute, "Water Country and was a fisherman's daughter. She was raised in a ninja village and taught me what she knew. I learned the ninja arts and traveled, lending my services to small villages and travelers. My mother died recently and finally told me who my father was and so I came to Konoha to see if I had any family left here."

Minato nodded, satisfied. "Why Water Country?"

"I know it a bit. I know its borders were pretty closed up for a while until my Genin team got there, so it would be hard for anyone to go in and check out my story. Me and Jiraiya spent some time there, too. The only other country I've spent equal time in was Wind or River, and I think I might want to avoid River Country, considering Akatsuki favors it."

"Yes, the borders of Water Country are difficult to cross. Good." Minato said, not commenting on his other two country options. "Jiraiya will help you to flesh that out and make sure it's solid. As of now, your file will remain under high clearance access but will now contain the basic heritage of your story, namely, that you are of the Namikaze line and are my half-brother and that you were born and raised outside of Konoha. It will also list your name as Namikaze Naruto, with the codename of Kinatsu."

"Naruto?"

"Would you prefer Kodora?" Minato asked with a smirk.

Naruto frowned, momentarily wondering where the hell the man had heard that name, then he remembered giving it when he had first met him. "You remember that?"

"It was the first thing you said to me."

Naruto blinked and thought back to the day he had followed Madara into the past and met his father. Some of his memories of the time before and some after that point were a little hazy, as they tended to be when using the Kyubi's chakra shrouds to the extent that he had. He did remember the chuck of time after he woke up to see the fox attacking Konoha with only the Fourth Hokage standing between them. He had introduced himself as Kodora, one of the many half-degrading nicknames that Sai had bestowed upon him over the years. It was one of the codenames he had used on the rare, short occasions that he needed one, or was told that he did.

"I think I prefer Naruto." He said.

"I thought you might." The Fourth said, "Kodora isn't a typical name given to a boy."

Naruto ignored that comment. "What about…" Naruto trailed off, not sure if he should or wanted to bring up the death of his infant counterpart. He wasn't sure how his father was feeling about that. On one hand the man had lost his son before the child had had a chance to breathe and nearly lost his wife as well, but on the other hand that same child – or some other timeline's version of him, was currently sitting in front of him as an adult. Naruto rather thought it was all a bit confusing if he thought about it for too long, but in the end, he wondered how the Fourth was handling the situation. Naruto thought it was strange enough on his end of things. He couldn't quite imagine how his father was feeling.

"My son?" Minato asked softly. Naruto nodded slowly, and Minato let out a low breath. "Kushina and I had planned to name our son Naruto, though we told few about our decision." Minato glanced at him from the corner of his eyes, "There were few who knew that we had married in secret and that her child was mine. So, while the name is rare, I think we can get by with you keeping your first name, though you will have to give up the name Uzumaki, I'm afraid. It would be too conspicuous for you to use that name." The Hokage gave him a questioning look. "Why were you called Uzumaki, anyways?"

Naruto shrugged. "Dunno, really. Ero-sennin hinted that the Third wanted me to grow up normal, or something." Naruto shrugged again and forced a half smile as he glanced away from his father. "The Third had made a law that forbade anyone to talk about the Kyubi or what had happened."

"I see."

Naruto looked up to see a strange look flicker across the man's face before it was replaced with a neutral expression.

Naruto sucked in a breath and let it out in a rush. He was glad to be able to keep his first name, it was his and he was fond of it. Even if he didn't use it for a while, it was still his name and that brought him a level of comfort that he hadn't quite expected from such a simple thing. "Alright. So I should start using that story?"

"No."

"Uh, what? Why not?" Naruto asked.

"It'll come out on its own." Minato waved one hand nonchalantly. "After the Trials people are curious about you. You came out of nowhere and no one knows anything about you. You hide your face and your file is under high clearance access only. They will start looking on their own. Let them figure it out rather than tell them. It'll be less suspicious."

Naruto nodded, "Alright. I think I get it."

"Once a few figure some things out about you, the rumor mill will take care of informing the rest of the village. We just need to make sure that they figure the things out that we want them to. Keep your time travel an absolute secret. For now, keep your fabricated history low key. With your situation, people are seeing you as being a bit secretive. While this isn't exactly unusual in a ninja village, ninjas are quite good at finding information, and they'll be looking for your secrets."

"So I let them think they found my secret because I didn't just give it to them."

"Exactly."

"Does that mean I have to keep wearing this scarf?"

Minato chuckled, "Yes. For now at least, though later you could probably get away with being lax about it. Wait until after you return."

Naruto sighed but didn't argue. While he wasn't much fond of the scarf he used to cover his face, he was getting used to it a bit, and it didn't bother him so much anymore. He at least was happy with the orange color of it.

"Did you bring your fuinjutsu notes?" Minato asked.

"Huh? Yeah." Naruto pushed the collar of his coat aside and pulled three small scrolls from the slots on the front of his flak vest. They were small enough to fit into his hand easily, and therefore easily carried. He tossed them onto the desk and watched as his father picked one up and inspected the simple, but strange seal wrapped around it.

"A blood-based seal?" Minato asked.

"Sort of." Naruto said, rocking his hand side to side. "Do you want me to tell you? Ero-sennin told me not to say anything when I gave them to him – er, the first time? Eh, whatever. He wanted to figure it out on his own."

Minato gave him a look, but turned his eyes back to the scroll in his hand. Naruto watched him inspect the seal on the outside of it in silence. Each of the three scrolls bore the same seal. It was a simple thing, Naruto had thought, but Jiraiya had found the theory behind it to be convoluted. Naruto hadn't minded the comments Jiraiya made about his thought processes, despite his complaints at the time. The seal did what he had wanted it to do, even if it didn't make logical sense to the old hermit. Naruto hadn't realized then that it was such an odd thing. It had made sense to him.

"It's designed similar to the summing seals." Minato said, still staring at the scroll. "But it uses the runes and markings of a simple blood seal used to close and mark documents."

"Like message scrolls." Naruto said, smiling.

"Yes." Minato looked back up at him. "It's a seal that only allows someone with a specific summoning contract to open it."

Naruto grinned widely. "Yup. It didn't take you nearly as long as it took Ero-sennin to figure it out."

"Jiraiya is good with seals, but he thinks linearly with them." Minato said. "I'm impressed, Naruto. I had not thought to specialize a message seal in this way."

"Heh, thanks." Naruto said, rubbing at the back of his head, somewhere between embarrassed and proud at the praise. "Anyways, you should be able to open them, since you have a contract with the toads. Do you want me to tell you how to decode them?"

"Not yet." Minato said. "Let me see if I can decipher them, first."

Naruto shrugged. "Suit yourself, kiiroi-ani."

Minato looked up at him with a wry look. "You know, it was you calling me that that gave me the idea to have you pose as my brother."

"Really?" Naruto shrugged again, running a hand through his bangs. "Heh, I guess it really fits, now."

"Yes," Minato said with a smile, "it does, otouto (3). Now," he said, leaning over the desk and crossing his fingers beneath his chin, "Kushina tells me that you train out in the far fields."

Naruto shifted his eyes slightly, eyeing the window and debating the possibility of jumping out of it before the Hokage stopped him. He should have suspected that Kushina would mention the incident to Minato. The two were married, after all, and Naruto had torn quite the fissure through a once densely wooded area.

"She also told me that you were wounded."

Naruto rolled his shoulders and made an abortive gesture with his hand as he restrained himself from reaching for his head. "That was a while ago. Before the Trials."

"You were hurt?"

Naruto waved his hand. "No, not really. It was a clone."

"Kinatsu, clones can't take hits and not dissipate."

Naruto blinked. "Well, no. Not normal ones."

Minato looked at him strangely.

"Hey, I did the same thing in that match with Ibiki, remember? My clones took hits."

Minato leaned backwards in his chair again, looking at him contemplatively. Naruto considered the window again. It was kind of strange to have the man so interested in his techniques, strangely enough. Naruto had revealed more about his jutsus in one sitting than he ever had before. People just didn't typically ask him about how he did things too often, not outside of a battle at any rate.

"Look," Naruto started, looking back at his father, "I was just training. I was fine. I wasn't really hurt, my clones took most of any damage."

"Most?"

Naruto opened his mouth to respond then closed it suddenly, cocking his head slightly at the man across from him. He recognized the look the Hokage was giving him, though barely. He had never had it directed at him very often, and never to such a level as he was seeing in the blonde man's eyes. Protectiveness, and if Naruto had to guess, concern as well. It caused a strange feeling in his gut and Naruto couldn't quite bring himself to speak as he stared at the man. His father, was concerned for him.

"Uh, yea." Naruto finally got his mouth to say, then shook his head slightly and grinned at his father. "I'll show you sometime. I think I finally got it down. I've been working on it for years. A couple of the advanced Rasengan techniques I got are self-damaging, so I've been working on my clones to make them strong enough to carry the attacks without dissipating in the backlash of them. I think I finally got it down."

The Hokage looked at him blankly, his eyes unreadable and his face slightly slack. Naruto thought it made him look surprised, in a subtle sort of way.

Minato pulled in a deep breath, smiling softly at him. "You are full of surprises."

Naruto grinned widely. "Kakashi-sensei called me the Number One Loudest, Unpredictable, Hyperactive Knuckleheaded Ninja."

"I'm beginning to see why." His father said wryly.

oooOoooOoooOooo

The morning of their departure Naruto met Jiraiya at the Namikaze's home, where the old man had slept the night before. He was greeted at the door by Kushina, who was dressed in a soft green jumper and slim ninja pants. Her hair was loose and she pushed a long lock of it back over her shoulder as she smiled at him.

"Good morning, Kinatsu-kun."

Naruto returned the woman's smile easily. "Morning, Kushina-san. Is ero-sennin here?"

"Ero-" Kushina tilted her head slightly then blinked. "Jiraiya?"

"Heh, yea." Naruto hunched his shoulders and rubbed at the back of his head. While he had always called Jiraiya perverted, he had over the years become aware of the level of respect that most people expected others to have for the sennin. Naruto respected the man, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to honestly call the old hermit a perverted old man. As often as he was given opportunity. Preferably in front of as many people as possible.

The red-head smiled brightly at him and let out a soft laugh. "That's fitting."

"Yea, considering how I first met him." Naruto mumbled.

Kushina either didn't hear him or decided not to respond. "Come in, Kinatsu-kun." She said, stepping to the side to let him enter the house. "Minato is in the kitchen with Jiraiya-sennin."

Naruto mumbled his thanks as he entered the house. The small entry opened up to a living room that had a half-wall separating the kitchen. Naruto spotted the blonde hair of his father seated across from Jiraiya, but it was the two young women in the living room that drew his immediate attention. He didn't know either of them, though they both looked vaguely familiar and for different reasons. The younger he couldn't place, even with the distinctive violet markings on her cheeks, though he knew he had seen her somewhere important. The second young woman was clearly a Hyuga, and looked like a mixture between Neji and Hinata, which was what made her so familiar to him. She had Neji's height and poise, but her face looked remarkably like Hinata's, despite the browner hair. Both were dressed in street-wear, though he could see the subtle traces of their ninja training in the way they moved and sat and watched him in return.

"Kinatsu-kun," Kushina said, moving past him to stand near the two women, "Let me introduce you." She pointed to the younger brunette first. "This is Adachi Rin (4), and Hyuga Hemene. We have some training scheduled for this morning, so they're here for breakfast before we go the fields."

"Pleased to meet you." Hemene said, her voice even but clear, which pushed Naruto's comparisons of her closer to Neji.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Kinatsu-san." Rin said, bowing her head slightly. "Kushina has mentioned you before."

"Oh?" Naruto glanced at his mother, then back to the girls.

"Rin was in the hospital with Kushina during the Kyubi attack." Minato's voice floated over to them. Naruto turned to look at his father over the partition wall, silent. He remembered. Rin was the girl who had been crouched over Kushina, both bloodied, her hands laced with the green of healing chakra. He had only glanced at her before attacking Madara, but it had been enough to imprint the girl's facial characteristics in his memory.

"Ah, yes." Naruto said, smiling slightly as he nodded once.

"Have you had breakfast, Kinatsu-kun?" Kushina asked. Naruto looked over at her, wondering at the subject change, though she didn't appear to be strained or upset about the mention of the day her son had died. But she was a ninja, he knew. Ninjas as a whole, tended to get over such things quicker as both a necessity and a response to their training. There usually wasn't time for long periods of grief or mourning.

"Sort of." Naruto said, eyeing the rice and fish out on the tables in the kitchen and living room. He had already eaten, but he would rarely deny the offer of food, especially from his mother.

"Help yourself, Kinatsu." Minato said, his lips quirking slightly. Kushina handed him a bowl and chopsticks and Naruto moved to sit at the table with his father, taking the place that put him facing the short wall separating the two rooms. He picked up his chopsticks then paused, his eyes glancing towards the Hokage as he recalled the scarf masking his face. Minato seemed to have been waiting for it for he nodded immediately and returned to his own breakfast. Nartuo reached up and pulled the orange scarf from his face slowly, noticing that all three of the women in the living room watched as he did so. He also noticed the two men on either side of him watching the girls in return, though Minato was far more subtle about it.

The scarf pooled around his neck and Naruto took in the curiosity and surprise on the women's faces. Kushina studied him carefully, before looking towards her husband and back again, clearly seeing the resemblance. Naruto, in order to avoid saying anything stupid, pushed a large bite of rice in his mouth and waited to see who would ask the question they all knew the girls wanted to ask.

"Ok, Minato," Kushina said, her eyes locked on the blonde Hokage. "Explain, please."

Minato raked a hand through his hair in a gesture that was quite familiar to Naruto and smiled a bit sheepishly at the red-head. "It's a bit of a story." Eh said, glancing at Naruto as Naruto put another bite of food into his mouth. He figured that Minato knew what he was doing when he had let Naruto remove the scarf in front of them, though Naruto didn't know quite what he was up to. There really was no denying their similarities. If the Hokage wanted to reveal his face to them, then who was Naruto to argue against the Hokage? Naruto held back a smirk at that thought. He always argued with the Hokage, no matter who it was.

"The two of you look very similar." Rin commented.

"What are you, twins?" Kushina demanded.

"Twins!" Naruto spluttered, "I'm not that old!"

"Who are you calling old?" Minato said, looking indignant. Naruto stuck his tongue out at him and his father narrowed his eyes slightly.

"As fascinating as this drama is," Jiraiya said, looking quite entertained, "We have a long way to travel today, so could you hurry it along a bit?"

Naruto sent him a hard look, catching a similar action from his father out of the corner of his eye. Jiraiya blinked and stared between them before laughing. "You two even act alike!"

Naruto sniffed and shoveled another clump of rice into his mouth, slouching into his chair, determined to ignore the man.

"Minato?" Kushina asked, standing near the partition wall and watching the two of them carefully.

Minato sighed and gestured towards Naruto. "Kinatsu is my brother, Kushina."

"Your brother? I didn't know you had one."

"Neither did I, until recently." Minato said, "He's my half brother, actually."

Naruto glanced at him at the use of his cover story and then turned to watch Kushina. She looked between the two of them for a minute before nodding. "There is certainly a resemblance." She said. "You're sure?"

"Quite." Minato said with a small quirk to his lips. "He has the Hakinkage."

Kushina blinked and then smiled suddenly. "I see. Welcome to the family, then, Kinatsu-kun."

"Uh, thanks." Naruto said, swallowing his rice thickly but returning her smile.

oooOoooOoooOooo

**A/N:** The Japanese used this chapter:

1)Kiiroi-ani - kiiroi means 'yellow' and ani means 'older brother'. Kiiroi-ani is meant to be a throw off of Minato's nickname as the Yellow Flash. It's what I've got Naruto calling the Yondaime.

2)Ero-sennin – perverted hermit (Naruto calls Jiraiya this).

3)Otouto – younger brother. Can I use this? Is this too much Japanese? I just like the word…I may be biased in using it in this fic, though, after I said I was going to translate most things…

4)Adachi Rin – Rin never gets a family name in canon, so I gave her one since she's alive and running around interacting with people. Adachi means "peaceful standing." Side note: Rin could mean a few things, including: "companion", "a small bell" and/or "cold" among others. She's the same age as Kakashi, so would be 14 now.

Hyuga Hemene is an original character.

Kodora means "small tiger", which I believe I've covered already. It also happens to mean "drinker", which helped me make up a terribly humorous tale (which will show itself in the story later) about why exactly Sai started calling Naruto it. I'm sure you can imagine…

Someone asked about Kurenai's age and rank; the sources I use state that she made Chunin at 13, and Jonin sometime around 24-27-ish or so. (she's 27 when Naruto makes Genin). At this point in this story she is, therefore, 15. So yes, it took her over a decade to move up to Jonin. Maybe she taught at the academy for a few years or something. Do I need to cover anyone else's ages? I put links in my profile to a couple online sites for canon Naruto info that I use.

Also: Maito Gai vs. Might Guy. I have seen both of these versions of his name used. I think Might Guy is used in the English anime. I'll likely stick to Maito Gai, unless I forget to keep an eye on the spellcheck… in which case, please let me know that I missed one (past chapters have been double checked and corrected).

Please note that Kushina calls Naruto "Kinatsu-kun" _not_ in the way that Sakura called Sasuke, Sasuke-kun. Kushina has absolutely no romantic notions towards him – nor will she. Kushina uses it in a way that denotes someone who is younger than her, and whom she is at least limitedly familiar with. Naruto, however, would not call her 'chan', for she is older and chan is almost always used with children or girls (though not exclusively so) as a sign of affection or endearment.

Right, I've talked too much, and this chapter was looong. Ta.


	6. TASUKEBUNE friend in need

**UPDATE:** _MegaB_ made a good suggestion (actually a few) and I'm going to follow it, so I'm looking for a BETA reader for this story, and figured I'd offer it out to the current readers before I started looking through 's Beta services. I'm mostly looking for someone to double check word-use, as I do have a spell check, but I don't always catch mis-used words, and also to keep an eye on the overall pacing and plot. Knowledge of the Naruto-verse is rather essential, knowledge of English is preferred… So if anyone is interested, send me a message and we'll chit-chat.

**Author's Note:** I have been alternately exasperated and pleased with the manga over the past few dozen chapters (near 450 ish and backwards). Sasuke has now become the number one most manipulatable idiot of the entire series and I think I very much dislike him. And good grief – DANZO?! The Daimyo is an idiot. On the other hand, Naruto's Sage Arts are pretty sweet, and chapter 440 was extremely long sought (without any expectations of receiving such a scene in the manga) and terribly satisfying. Grin.

Anyways, rants aside… I have mixed feelings about this chapter. On one hand I don't think it's nearly as polished as it should be or even very good and I'm still debating on some of the content and what it'll mean for the plot and story later on. On the other hand, I'm just darn sick of looking at it; it isn't the most important or interesting chunk of the story in the greater scheme of things, and I want to move on. So I'm posting it, crossing my fingers, and moving on.

_Reaper-Nanashi_ – Kiiroi-gaki, LoL! That's hilarious. I might just have to use that one…

**Disclaimer:** Naruto and etc. aren't mine, but there is a growing collection of original characters that will undoubtedly make their appearances.

oooOoooOoooOooo

**Namikaze Brothers **Arc One : Magirekomu Bettenchi(to be lost in another world)

By Renatus

Chapter 06 – Tasukebune (friend in need)

oooOoooOoooOooo

_six weeks (and a day) after arrival…_

Naruto trucked just behind the older man, shifting his pack on his back as they walked away from Konoha, his shoulders feeling a little stiff still from the Trials, which was a novel sensation for him. His healing rate had never left him feeling sore for so long before. He was getting flashbacks to the first time he had left with Jiraiya on a training trip, and smiled at the memory.

"Ne, ero-sennin!" Naruto called, jogging a bit to catch up to him and walk beside the other man. Jiraiya grunted in response, scowling at him before turning back to the road. Naruto took that as permission to continue, not that he would have remained silent either way. "What are you going to teach me, huh?"

"Teach you?"

"Yeah! You're a sensei, aren't you. So teach me something while we're running about and spying on missing-nins and all."

"Gah. What do you already know, gaki?"

"Hey! I'm not a brat!"

Jiraiya didn't look convinced, but Naruto didn't push the issue.

"So?" the older man prompted.

Naruto shrugged. "Hmm. I dunno."

Jiraiya let out a guffaw and looked over at him. Naruto grinned in return at the taller man. "What did I teach you before?"

"Lots of things I guess," Naruto said. "Like… how to escape mobs of righteously angry, half naked women after they caught you peeping." Jiraiya scowled darkly at him and Naruto ignored it to continue. "Or how to completely piss off a woman by leering alone and then avoid – or at least try to avoid – the subsequent beating."

"Gaki –"

"Or, oh! I know!" Naruto continued brightly, "How to escape murderous husbands after – Ow!"

Naruto scowled at the man, rubbing the newly formed lump on the back of his head. Jiraiya put his nose in the air and sniffed, pretending that he hadn't just wacked him over the head with the metal plate on his gloves.

"I see my other, future self clearly didn't see you worthy enough to teach you properly," Jiraiya said stiffly. Naruto recognized the man's expression as the one he used when trying to act superior. Naruto just thought it looked stuffy and lame.

"No, you were just too damned lazy to bother," Naruto grumbled. "Spent more time peeping at the bath houses than training me."

"Exactly!" Jiraiya exclaimed. "I had my priorities straight!"

Naruto rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "Bah. Stupid pervert."

They walked in silence for a while; Jiraiya grumbling darkly under his breath while Naruto smiled and ignored him. He had missed the other man immensely and was extremely happy to be going off on a training trip with him again – missions on the side or not. It was something that was distinctly familiar for all its differences that it settled Naruto's sometimes fluctuating emotions about his situation.

"Well," Jiraiya said, "Minato asked me to try to round you out a bit. He thought you were a little one-sided after the Trials a week ago."

"One-sided? Hey, I didn't want to hurt them," Naruto said, indignant. "Most of my attacks are A-class ninjutsu. Or S-class. They aren't exactly easy to use against someone I'm not trying to make into a dead, bloody pulp."

"Hmm, yes."

"I won, didn't I?"

"And passed out before you could walk off the field."

"So? They passed out first!"

"Hmph! And if you did that in enemy territory their backup would have taken you for themselves before you even woke up."

"But I wasn't."

Jiraiya glared at him from the corner of his eyes. "Getting caught by the enemy is not something you want to let happen, gaki."

Naruto returned the glare. "I know that!"

"Fine," Jiraiya turned his gaze back to the road and dropped the caught-by-the-enemy issue. "You seem to be a bit of a heavy-hitter type."

Naruto refrained the urge to growl in return. "I've got a lot of chakra, and my stamina is a little crazy. Coupled with my healing rate, it makes a lot of sense."

Jiraiya nodded. "Yes. But do you still have all the chakra that you are used to having? Or your healing ability for that matter? You no longer have the Kyubi. Do you know what that has changed in you yet?"

Naruto blinked and thought about that. He no longer had the Kyubi in him to augment his chakra reserves, so if he ran out of chakra in a fight, he couldn't rely on the Kyubi's seemingly endless supply of power to get him out of trouble anymore. Jiraiya was right. Naruto didn't know, even after the Trials. He could no longer rely on any of the things he was used to; not the chakra amount, not the healing, not even the strength or power that he was once able to call upon. He had lived his entire life with the Kyubi and its side-effects – for good or bad, and he no longer had that anymore. He no longer really knew what he was capable of even, though he had a pretty good idea after competing in the Trials.

"I can still make over a hundred shadow clones without tiring out," Naruto said, searching for something that he did know that he could still do. "Though I don't know how many times I can do that anymore. Used to be about endless, really. My chakra stamina is still high, but I can now actually run out. A few of my high-powered jutsus take more out of me than they used to. I can't execute them as often as I could have."

Jiraiya stopped walking to stare at him before shaking his head and continuing on. "Heh. Alright. Not too many people can do something like that unless as a last resort."

"I use the shadow clones all the time," Naruto said. "It's kind of a common staple, I guess."

"Can you fight without them?"

Naruto shrugged. "I guess so. Never really tried."

"How's your taijutsu?"

"Sloppy to nonexistent," Naruto said honestly. "I rely more on strength, numbers and stamina than accuracy and finesse. I picked stuff up from different places."

Jiraiya nodded. "While that's all well and good, you need to learn or develop your taijutsu."

Naruto curled his nose up at the idea but didn't bother to argue. He knew the kind of damage a decent taijutsu could do. Lee and Neji were really good examples of that. He had never had the time or patience to learn one himself. He had gotten along just fine with hodg-podging whatever pieces worked for him together. No one had ever really taken the time to teach him a style either.

"And I'm going to start putting you through the ANBU training," Jiraiya said.

"What? What for?"

"To teach you subtlety for one. And so you get the hang of watching your mouth for another. And because the ANBU have some of the best training techniques for chakra control."

Naruto made a face and Jiraiya scowled at him.

"Look, gaki, you obviously got the whole combat weapon and mass destruction deal down pat. And Minato told me that you know seals, so I know you can do precision work if you put your mind to it."

Naruto nodded. "Ok, sure. But why is that so important?"

"You're a ninja! You're supposed to know how to be sneaky!"

"I can be!" Naruto responded a bit hotly, "I've been able to ditch the Konoha police forces since I was five, and avoid the stupid, lurking ANBU since I was seven. Wearing an almost solid block of bright orange, I'll add!"

Jiraiya blinked at him, obviously a bit stunned. Naruto glowered back at him and stuffed his hands into his pants pockets. The wind shifted behind them and blew the ends of his coat and scarf in front of his face. Naruto scowled slightly and pushed them back over his shoulder, resisting the urge to pull it off of his face as well. He was only partially used to wearing it and covering his face with a mask. It almost made him feel like he was hiding, and he wasn't sure that he liked it.

"Look, I'm already walking around under a codename," Naruto said, still not completely calm from his outburst. "So I don't understand why I need to get ANBU training as well. They're kinda cool and all, but it's not my style."

"Adaptability," Jiraiya said, his voice even and a little low. Naruto looked at him out of the corner of his eyes, not quite sure of the man's mood. "And because Konoha's undercover forces are strained thin after the war and Minato is about as large a target as someone could be. That's not even counting how much you look like him. The two of you look like you're brothers, which helps your story, but you'll be a huge target, just because of your looks. You'll never be able to enter Earth Country without a disguise the way you look now. They'd kill you on sight, just because."

Naruto sighed, "I've been a target for someone or other all my life. You think the villagers didn't know that I was a Jinchuriki?"

Jiraiya didn't voice a response to that. Instead Naruto felt a heavy hand fall on his shoulder. Naruto just watched the path in front of them, only half trying to ignore the variety of memories that had surfaced with his statement.

"Stealth, Taijutsu and Chakra control," Jiraiya said, continuing their conversation, "are some of your weaker fields and each can be trained."

"Genjutsu is my weakest," Naruto said evenly.

"Ah, but that one is harder to teach someone that doesn't have an affinity for it. Like medical techniques, illusions require high chakra control, which you don't have."

Naruto remained silent, absorbing what the other man was telling him. In most ways, Naruto was already aware of what he was being told. He knew his own weaknesses well enough, but had rarely given more thought to them than a brief acknowledgement before moving on to further his strengths. He had almost never had much need for precision chakra control, as his high-powered jutsus didn't need it, and he was good enough at control to be able to walk around on most surfaces and hang upside down on most them. He had similar positions on both stealth skills and martial arts. He knew enough of them to where the use of a shadow clone army made them a bit of a moot point to improve much further. Having one martial arts specialist did little to combat one hundred brute force clones with just a basic hodge-podge of any sort of effective taijutsu. He could overwhelm most specialists with sheer numbers.

"Minato left me with a scroll," Jiraiya said, "It has his notes on a seal technique that he hasn't finished yet. Seems to think you might be able to."

"Really?" Naruto asked, happy for the distraction and wondering what sort of technique the Fourth had begun. He was excited at the prospect of looking at the man's notes.

"Yup," Jiraiya said, pulling the scroll from a pocket, and waving it in front of him.

"Alright, fine," Naruto said, frowning at the not-so-subtle bribe. "Exactly what sort of training is it going to be, anyways?"

Jiraiya smirked at him and Naruto told himself that the old man wouldn't really take too much advantage of him. Naruto narrowed his eyes and snatched the scroll out of the man's hand.

"Careful, you pervert," Naruto said with a small growl, "Don't say anything I'll have to make you regret."

Jiraiya just laughed, throwing his head back and letting out a loud rumbling laugh that made Naruto glare darkly at him. He studiously ignored the lurking feeling of dread bubbling up in his gut. He had a feeling he wasn't going to exactly like whatever sort of ANBU training that Jiraiya had cooked up for him. It was going to be a long trip. Naruto was looking forward to it.

oooOoooOoooOooo

_Three months after arrival…a village near River Country's border…_

Nartuo was in their hotel room alternately stuffing his face with riceballs, and trying to untangle the lengths of his wet hair when Jiraiya barged through the door. Naruto paused long enough to identify the man before shoving another riceball in his mouth and returning his fingers to his hair. He scowled as a particularly nasty knot caught his fingers and yanked on his scalp. '_Having long hair is a pain,'_ he thought. Jiraiya waved a small scroll around as he crossed the small living area to him.

"I got a message from Konoha."

Naruto swallowed his food quickly, cutting off a near choke to respond. "Really?"

"Minato has an emergency mission for us if we can do it."

"What do you mean if we can do it?" Naruto said. "Of course we can do it. What's the mission?"

Jiariya tossed the scroll at him and Naruto snatched it out of the air before it hit him in the face. He unrolled it and scanned its contents once, before returning his eyes to the beginning and reading it more slowly. He finished it quickly, it didn't say much, and looked up at the older man standing over him.

"Damn," Naruto said, looking back at the scroll, "This team is like the who's-who of Konoha."

Jiraiya hummed in response. "Likely why they were targeted and taken alive."

"You sure, alive?"

The older man shrugged.

"Wonder what they're after," Naruto said, "This team doesn't have much in the way of bloodline limits, just well known names."

"Who knows?"

"Do you know where they are?"

"I have an idea," Jiraiya said, grabbing one of the riceballs on the table for himself. Naruto didn't put up a fuss about it, which was a testament to how serious he took the contents of the scroll. Naruto laid the scroll on the table and gathered the locks of his hair in order to pull it back into his usual low ponytail. He felt its ends brush against his shoulder blades and he looked up at Jiraiya.

"We should hurry," Naruto said.

Jiraiya nodded. "I shouldn't be seen. And neither should you. Any Iwa (1) ninja would kill you on site."

"I'll be fine, I've got my scarf."

"You think that'll be good enough, gaki? Your hair color alone will make anyone who's faced the Yellow Flash have flash-backs. You look like him."

"I know."

Naruto finished dressing quickly, zipping up his collarless flak vest and slipping his red coat on over that. His tool pouches and weapons followed.

"It's likely that they were taken by Iwa ninjas," Jiraiya said, watching as Naruto wrapped his orange scarf around his face and neck. "No matter that we just recently signed a peace treaty with them. If they can get a hold of our people without it being obvious that it was them, they would."

"Yea, yea, it shouldn't be too difficult," Naruto said.

"They captured an entire Konoha team, gaki. And it's not a Genin team. Three of them are Chunin."

Naruto glanced at other man, pausing in the process of arming himself to consider his words. The old pervert had a point. It was an impressive feat to actually capture a team of Chunin. It meant that their captors were either considerably more skilled, or the Konoha team had been severely caught by surprise. It was a somewhat unusual situation, and didn't bode well for the captured team, nor those going in to aid them.

Jiraiya didn't press the issue any more, having recognized that Naruto had finally taken the time to actually think about the situation.

"Think this has anything to do with the dopes in robes?" Naruto asked.

"No," Jiraiya said, "there's no reason for Akatsuki to be interested in any of them." The sennin narrowed his eyes at Naruto shrewdly. "Unless you know some reason that I don't."

Naruto shook his head. "No, though you're old friend might be interested in a couple of them."

Jiraiya was quiet for a minute. "Point."

"If the snake-bastard is involved, this could get dicey," Naruto admitted.

"There was no immediate tell that he was. A short emergency message was sent to Konoha via the Yamanaka clan, and they didn't mention anything about any Konoha missing-nin, and that kind of information would have been important enough to make sure it was known."

"Aa, so if he is involved, than he's got someone doing his dirty work," Naruto said.

"It's possible," Jiraiya conceded. "Then again it could just be a group of Iwa-nin looking for a bit of revenge after the war."

Naruto shrugged. It didn't make much of a difference to him. He was going to go and help the captive Konoha team either way. If Orochimaru was orchestrating events in order to get his hands on some of Konoha's shinobi, than things would undoubtedly be difficult, but as Jiraiya had said, the short report into Konoha didn't mention any suspicions about Orochimaru. Just Iwa ninja. And if it was all a result of Orochimaru's plans, than Naruto would find great joy in wrecking them.

"They were ambushed near the eastern border of River Country," Jiraiya broke into his thoughts. "Head that way and I'll send you a toad to let you know more specifics."

"How are you gonna figure that out," Naruto asked, eyeing the man suspiciously.

"The Yamanaka," Jiraiya said. "The team's Jonin is Inoichi's brother, they can communicate through some mind technique." Jiraiya waggled his fingers near his temple, "As soon as more information is delivered through the link, Minato will let me know, and then I'll let you know. In the meantime, you've got to go meet the backup team coming from Konoha."

"Wait, what are you going to do?"

Jiraiya waved one hand in the air, looking out the window to the small town they were in. "Research."

"What!?"

oooOoooOoooOooo

One hour later found Naruto crouched in a tree, having slunk out of the village he and Jiraiya had their hotel in. Below him was a main trade route that stretched from Fire Country to Wind Country and crossed through River Country on the way. It was considerably further south than the civilian village where he had left the Sennin, outside of River Country's northern border. He was waiting for both the backup team and Jiraiya's messenger to let him know where the captured Konoha-nin were being held.

He sensed the Konoha team coming just before he caught their familiar scents. A moment later he saw two traveling at a fast pace on the road. He recognized the two immediately, and knew the other two of the standard four-man team were close by, though he couldn't actually see them. They were running quickly, though not at the sprinting pace that ninjas were capable of. He jumped from his tree right in front of the two on the road, bringing them to a swift stop, and ready fighting stances.

Naruto stood easily, smirking at them as they identified him. Naruto figured they had been told to expect a meet, but they couldn't have known who they were meeting.

"Kinatsu!" Tetsu shot out, glaring at him.

"Hiya, Tetsu-chan!" Naruto greeted, waving at the two brightly, and grinning behind his scarf. The girl growled at him, but didn't start attacking him, or insulting him. Naruto wasn't sure if he was relieved at the reprieve or disappointed.

"Kinatsu," Genma said, slipping a senbon needle into his mouth as he eyed him.

Further conversation was stopped as their teammates emerged from the trees above them. Naruto knew to expect the kid – Uchiha Shisui, but he hadn't met nor did he know their Jonin leader. The man was generally nondescript, and of average build, though he carried a ninjaken (2) along his spine like most of Konoha's ANBU, and also still wore the armguards. There were two purple marks on his cheek that reminded him of the girl he had met at the Namikaze's, Rin.

"Team…" Naruto drifted off, inviting them to introduce themselves.

"Satou," The Jonin said. The man pointed to Genma and gave each of the Chunin's names, despite Naruto already knowing them, then pointed at himself. "I'm Adachi Satou."

"Kinatsu," Naruto said for the man's benefit.

"What're you doing out here, anyways?" Tetsu asked.

Naruto shrugged, "Training."

"In River Country?"

Naruto glanced at her but before he could respond a soft pop and a small cloud of smoke heralded the arrival of Jiraiya's messenger. Naruto suddenly found himself with a small toad perched atop his head. He couldn't see it, but he knew what he would find if he could have – a yellow toad decorated with pink and orange splotches.

"Gamahade," Naruto greeted, rolling his eyes upward. A yellow webbed foot waved in front of his face before retreating to wrap around his head again.

"Morning," The toad replied, its voice soft and indistinct.

"Evening, actually," Naruto replied.

"Ah. Who are they?"

"Team Satou," Naruto said. "Backup."

"Ah. You got any candy?" the toad asked, shifting on his head.

"Hey! I'm not feeding you!" Naruto frowned. "Did he find where they are?"

"Um-huh." Naruto felt the toad move again and one of her feet left his head in order to point. "Thata way."

Naruto looked back at the team and Satou motioned for him to lead the way. Naruto nodded again and jumped up into the trees, heading in the direction that Gamahade had indicated. The four-man team followed him into the branches.

They traveled quickly and silently, Naruto leading with Gamahade perched on his head, digging her webbed feet through his hair. He could see Tetsu just behind his right shoulder and he sensed Genma further behind and to his left. The other two followed behind. Tetsu kept glancing at him, watching him closely, and Naruto resisted the urge to turn and stick his tongue out at her.

oooOoooOoooOooo

Below and before him was a narrow ravine, half hidden by wide trees and low brush cover. Naruto studied the area, taking in the barely-there signs of ninja occupation – a tag not perfectly concealed on the branch to his left, a trap wire stretching over the ground between two trees, a shallow mark carved into the tree ahead of him. He didn't know the level of skill of the ninja they were up against, but there was at least one who wasn't very good at covering his tracks.

"The toad said they were here?" Tetsu asked, her eyes narrowed as she looked at the ravine.

Naruto nodded. "Yea. Jiraiya sent one of his toads to let me know where they were."

"Jiraiya?" Tetsu said, staring at him. "Then why isn't he here to help?"

"He's busy," Naruto said, frowning. Gamahade had dissipated after they arrived at the ravine, not being a combat toad and having delivered her message, leaving Naruto to deal with the over-curious Team Satou.

"Figures," Genma grumbled. "He's a sennin, he could have done this with less trouble."

"Quit complaining, Genma," Tetsu said, making Genma scowl at her, which she ignored. "At least we have something to do besides pick on the Academy students."

"You could train instead of making the student's lives' harder than need be," Genma countered.

"Let's move in," Satou cut in. Genma and Tetsu fell silent, listening to their leader's commands as he laid out the plan. Naruto listened silently as well, appreciating the other man's subtle flair for dramatics. He felt a small smile curl on his lips.

"Kinatsu," Satou said, "if you would go with Shisui around to the North, you two are the fastest of us here. You will be able to circle around and get to the further positions quicker."

Naruto nodded and glanced at the Uchiha boy-wonder. Shisui gave a quick, short nod and Naruto smirked as he raised one hand before his chin. Shisui echoed the motion and a moment later they both flickered away from the team. Naruto didn't often use the Body Flicker technique, preferring the use of his Hakinkage speed more than the somewhat disorienting transportation jutsu. It had taken him far longer than normal to learn the Body Flicker technique to begin with, and like the Henge, he didn't use it unless he had to out of some sort of payback to the technique that had given him so much trouble and grief. Besides, as soon as he figured out the Fourth's Hiraishin, Naruto wouldn't need the Body Flicker.

Naruto and Shisui didn't speak to each other past the simple hand signs they used to communicate for the mission. As soon as they heard the explosion from Tetsu's position where they left the team, they moved into the ravine, trusting their teammates to uphold their end of the plan. Naruto was a bit surprised at Shisui's effectiveness in a skirmish. The kid dispatched two of the low-ranked Iwa-nins they came across with barely a sound, flickering around and behind the two before anyone could hardly blink. Naruto trailed the boy to one side, covering his side of the narrow ravine and keeping one eye on the Uchiha and one on his surroundings as they moved down its length.

Naruto came across the Konoha team first. They were bound tightly and effectively, each to a separate tree, and far enough apart that they couldn't easily communicate. They were gagged and blindfolded, and they all looked a bit worse for wear. They were guarded by two remaining Iwa ninjas. Utilizing another distant explosion as distraction, Naruto activated his Hakinkage and used his enhanced speed to place shock tags onto them both. They tags activated before they could react to his presence among them, leaving the two unconscious on the ground and Naruto glancing around the small clearing.

"That was efficient," Shisui commented, landing in a crouch next to him. Naruto glanced at the kid, but didn't verbally respond. Shisui's eyes were red, with two tomoes in one eye and three in the other, twirling lazily. Naruto turned away from the sight, reminded heavily of Sasuke and their year as Genin in Team Seven before the Chunin Exams and Orochimaru. Shisui moved over to one of the bound Konoha ninjas and untied the cloth from the man's eyes. Naruto watched dispassionately, keeping most of his attention on the surrounding area in case any Iwa ninjas came back around, or some trap was set off that they hadn't caught.

"Tetsu has the other Iwa ninja effectively distracted," Shisui commented, his voice quiet, but laced with a trace of humor that surprised Naruto. Another, closer explosion echoed through the trees, letting them both know that the girl was likely enjoying herself. Naruto had played around with fighting Tetsu enough to know that the girl favored loud bangs and flashy jutsu. Explosions were only a natural addition to her collection, though Naruto hadn't yet faced much of them from her personally.

"Aa," Naruto said, nodding in greeting as the man Shisui untied looked up at him. Naruto recognized him, would have even if he didn't know who to expect in the captive team. The long, blonde hair pulled into the high ponytail made identifying most Yamanakas easy, though Naruto would be hard pressed to figure out which brother was which and which one was the father of Ino. As it was, Naruto only knew that the man before him was Yamanaka Inoske, Ino's uncle, because the mission scroll from Konoha stated as such.

Shisui stood back as Inoske got to his feet, supporting himself on the tree behind him.

"You got our message?" Inoske asked, looking between the two.

"Konoha did," Naruto said.

"How many of them have you gotten?" Inoske asked. "There were three teams of four."

Naruto started slightly. They had only been told that there were two teams of Iwa ninja, not three. Naruto crossed his fingers in front of him, making the seal for his shadow clones, and made five copies of himself. The clones jumped up into the trees without a word, and sprinted off down the length of the ravine towards the rest of their team.

"We should go," Naruto said, turning to one of the Chunin tied to another tree.

"You didn't know their numbers," Inoske said, not bothering to phrase it as a question. Neither Naruto or Shisui bothered to answer him. It was obvious with the way that Naruto had reacted. There was still unaccounted for enemies in the vicinity, and gauging the ease with which they had so far dealt with the ones they had encountered, the missing Iwa team was of a much higher caliber than the others.

Naruto knelt in front of the boy and hesitated as he reached for the cloth bound around his head. It was soaked through with blood and he was breathing deeply, as though forcefully controlling his breathing. It was Ibiki, Naruto knew, and he was almost afraid to remove the cloth binding the other boy's eyes. He untied it carefully, peeling it away from his head and face. Ibiki blinked and peered at him, his eyes barely focusing. One was bloodied and nearly swollen shut from a gash that traveled from his temple and over his eyebrow. It looked worse than it likely was. He was relieved not to find the screw holes and cuts that the man had as an adult.

"Eh, Kinatsu?" Ibiki said, his voice slurring a bit.

"Heya, Morino man," Naruto greeted, grinning. Ibiki blinked blearily at him and scowled.

"Turn it down will ya, my head is throbbing."

"No doubt," Naruto said, "Looks like they knocked you a good one."

"Bastards," Ibiki grumbled, still looking at him a bit cross-eyed. Naruto was beginning to wonder if he should be concerned that the man had gotten a concussion.

"They were just afraid of me," Ibiki continued, growling through the words.

"You were just too slow, Ibiki," one of the girls quipped. Naruto glanced behind him to see Kurenai freed from her bonds, rubbing her wrists carefully. Shisui was already untying the last member of the captive team.

"Bastards aimed for my head," Ibiki growled, "Now I can't concentrate enough for my illusions. My head is still swimming."

'_Yes,'_ Naruto thought, _'definitely should be worried about a concussion if he can't even cast his genjutsu.'_

"Are you going to untie me or just sit there and laugh at me, you little twerp?"

"Yea, yea, don't get all prissy on me, Morino." Naruto chuckled and untied him quickly, ignoring the other boy's barely muffled threats, and helped him to stand. Ibiki wobbled but then waved him away, gritting his teeth and forcing his body to find its sense of balance again. Naruto stood to the side and let him have his way, understanding the stubbornness intimately.

"I'm fine," Ibiki ground out. Naruto nodded, seeing that the boy's eyes were focusing clearly, and he wasn't weaving about like he was about to topple over any more.

Naruto glanced around the small clearing, taking in the injuries of the team. The two girls, Kurenai and Nanami were relatively unharmed, though Kurenai's right arm was darkly bruised, and the ropes had cut into her wrists harshly, and Nanami's short kimono was tattered in places. A pattern of small wounds across the back of her arm and shoulder told him that one of the Iwa-nin used senbon needles, though her injuries didn't keep her from having drawn her sword, holding it expertly in one hand. Nanami crossed to Inoske, concern flickering across her features as she reached his side.

"Sensei," she started, but stopped when he waved her off.

"I'll be fine."

"You're leg is broken," She stated plainly.

"I know that."

Nanami didn't push the issue, nor did she move to help him again, but she didn't back away either, remaining within arms reach of him and giving him an exasperated look. Inoske half leaned against the tree for support, alternately scowling at his leg and his stubborn student.

Naruto crossed the distance to the other man, and forced his arm over his shoulders. When the blonde man made to move away, Naruto gripped his wrist tightly and took a step to the side, forcing the man away from the support of the tree. Nanami shifted out of the way, clearly seeing what Naruto was doing and letting him do it.

"We need to move," Naruto said, glaring at him pointedly. Inoske gritted his teeth and nodded, letting some of his weight settle across Naruto's shoulders. It was awkward with their height difference, Inoske being of a tall, lean build next to Naruto's stockier one, but Naruto took the man's weight easily enough, though it made Inoske stoop over a bit.

"Tetsu's explosions have stopped," Shisui commented.

"Aa," Naruto said, "Let's go. We need to get out of this area."

The team didn't argue with him, knowing very well that the Iwa ninjas had likely laid enough traps over the area that the Konoha teams were largely at a disadvantage. They needed to get to a location that was at least neutral ground, though Naruto already had plans for drawing the Iwa-nins into a field of _his_ choosing.

They moved through the forest without too much difficultly, though the climb out of the ravine was made challenging with Inoske's broken leg and need for support. By the time they met up with the rest of their team – Tetsu looking a bit smoke-tinged and grinning like a madwoman – most of the rescued team were moving easily, except for Inoske, who was still half-draped over Naruto's shoulders, and Ibiki who looked like he had a bit of a concussion. The other boy was looking a little cross-eyed and dizzy, though was able to move on his own – though barely.

"I got your message," Satou commented, coming alongside Naruto as they moved from branch to branch. The other man stared at his eyes for a minute before continuing. "I haven't caught any sign of them yet. Have you?"

"No."

Satou glanced at the blond half draped over his shoulder. "Inoske," he greeted.

"Satou," Inoske said through a grimace, nodding once.

"I'm not sure I want to know how they caught you guys," Satou said with a small smirk.

"And I'm not sure I want to admit to it," Inoske grumbled.

"Should be a good story," Tetsu said, grinning at them and ignoring the team's scowls at her comment.

Naruto stopped suddenly on a wide branch of a tree, hefting Inoske's weight as the man leaned against him. The others stopped with him, looking at him curiously. Shisui moved near him, the Uchiha Sharingan bright as the boy searched the forest ahead of them.

Naruto slouched under Inoske's weight and the man pulled himself up to brace himself on his one good leg. Naruto let him, not stopping the man as he slipped his hand out of his grip.

"Genma," Satou called, "take over for him."

Naruto got out of the taller boy's way, letting Genma take the blonde's arm and drape it over his own shoulder. Naruto turned and crouched low on the branch, letting his arms fall loosely beside him as if resting. He glanced back the way they had come carefully. The subtle signs of his tags stretched in a line behind him, circling around to form a circle that the group stood on the outside edge of. Tetsu, who had stopped the furthest behind him, stood just outside of the line. None of them had seen it, or at least, had shown no signs of having seen it as they passed straight through the center of the circle his tags made.

"You might as well show yourselves," Naruto said, his voice quiet, but carried well through the trees. The Chunin around him looked at him in surprise, while the two Jonin and the Uchiha all looked in the same direction he was facing, trying to see or sense what he did.

A rustling of leaves preceded the emergence of a single Iwa-nin, the man's clothing grey and plain, and his face and hair covered with white strips of cloth. His steps on the branch he stood on were silent, giving away some of his skill.

"Where are your friends?" Satou asked, his hand poised over his weapons pouch.

"In the trees behind him," Naruto answered, a corner of his mouth turning up in a small smirk. "They've been trailing us since the ravine."

"And you just now decided to tell us that?" Tetsu growled at him. Naruto moved from his position to land on the branch beside her, crouching low again and not actually answering her question.

"We expected backup from Konoha," the Iwa-nin said, "But I didn't expect them to send such a young team."

"You shouldn't underestimate Konoha!" Tetsu countered.

"It appears that I overestimated Konoha."

"Tetsu," Satou said sternly, stopping her from saying whatever retort she had on the tip of her tongue. She growled lowly in her throat, clutching her kunai to the point that her knuckles were white. Naruto glanced at her then back to the Iwa-nin in front of him.

"Move on ahead," Naruto said, "I'll take care of this."

"By yourself?" Tetsu exclaimed, turning to him, "Are you nuts? These guys caught a four-man team, and you want to take them on by yourself?"

"Yes," Naruto said, turning his head enough so he could look her in the eye.

The Iwa-nin's laughter rang through the air, and Naruto returned to watching him. "You're brave, little blondie," he said, "Alright then, let them go. I'll take care of your pretentious ass myself."

"Kinatsu, there's no need –" Satou started, but was cut off by a strangled yell and the sound of something crashing through the branches of the trees. A thud sounded later and the voice was abruptly cut off. Silence spread through the area, and the Iwa-nin was glaring behind him at the source of the sound.

"I'll take care of this," Naruto repeated, his smirk evident in his voice.

"You!" The Iwa-nin said, glaring at him, "You brought a friend, did you? I'll get him too, don't worry."

"Actually, it's just us," Naruto said, "No on else."

The Iwa-nin didn't bother to respond, instead he let loose a volley of shuriken at them, surprising a couple of them with his suddenness and speed. Tetsu jumped to dodge out of the way, while Nanami moved in, swinging her katana in smooth arcs that deflected the projectiles away from her and her team.

Naruto pulled a kunai to block the attack, sliding down and around the branch of the tree he was on until he was clutching at it from the side, using it as a cover. The Shuriken thunked into the trees around them, one grazing close to his shoulder and another cut through the fabric on his thigh. Naruto let his momentum carry him down and around the branch, planting his feet on the other side of it and springing off it at the Iwa-nin. He threw the kunai in his hand, which was easily blocked, but forced the man to remain where he was. Naruto bowled into him harshly, digging his fist into the man's gut and sending them both flying off the branch.

"Kinatsu!" Tetsu called.

They crashed to the ground, the Iwa-nin twisting them and forcing Naruto to take the fall directly on his back with his weight on top of him. Dirt flew up around them as they hit the ground, and Naruto had time enough to plant a kunai into the man's shoulder before poofing out of existence.

The Iwa ninja stared at the small crater where they had landed, clearly shocked.

Naruto took advantage of the man's surprise to launch an attack, showering him with a barrage of shuriken that the Iwa-nin barely reacted to fast enough, dodging out of the way just before the weapons would have peppered his back.

"Hiya!" Naruto called down to him from his perch in the trees, openly grinning behind his scarf.

The Iwa-nin spun sharply at his voice, staring up at him with wide eyes. Naruto wasn't surprised at the guy's reactions. It wasn't every day that a clone survived such a fall. Regular clones could survive as they were no more than illusions, but would not have been able to inflict damage and a shadow clone, while able to cause damage, would have dissipated as soon as the two had collided so forcefully. But Naruto hadn't used either sort.

"Stubborn Clones," Naruto called down, smirking. "They're a bitch, aren't they?"

The Iwa-nin narrowed his eyes at him and reached for his weapons pouch.

oooOoooOoooOooo

"He is full of surprises, isn't he?" Inoske asked wryly, watching as the masked blonde deflected the Iwa's kunai.

"I think I'm starting to get used to it," Genma mumbled. He switched his senbon from one corner of his mouth to the other and shifted Inoske's weight over his shoulders. "After the Trials and watching him annoy Tetsu, I don't think his baiting an unknown Iwa-nin is terribly surprising."

"I was talking more about his clones," Inoske said, still watching the blonde and Iwa-nin, "But his attitude is interesting as well. Very… boisterous."

"I think that's an understatement. He's worse than Tetsu sometimes."

"Hey!" Tetsu shot a glare at the two, but a cracking explosion from Kinatsu's direction interrupted any retaliatory insult she had been about to give them. The sound of a large tree crashing down in the forest echoed around them, though they couldn't see the full damage from their position. The two Konoha teams turned their attention to the increasingly dangerous battlefield before them where the scarf-wearing blonde had multiplied and had somehow managed to explode a tree.

"Is he using exploding tags or exploding clones?" Kurenai asked, watching what they could see of the battle with open interest.

"Both," Nanami said, her eyes flicking quickly as she watched the fast-paced action in the trees.

"The little twerp." Ibiki ground out, "He's damn inconsistent."

"Didn't he get you with one of those exploding clones, Morino?" Tetsu asked, smirking at the larger boy. Ibiki leveled a dark glare at her, but most of his intimidation was lost since his eyes were still unable to fully focus on a single target without crossing. Tetsu's smirk widened into a grin.

"Pay attention," Satou said. "There are still enemies around."

"Yea, yea," Tetsu grumbled, but stopped teasing the concussed boy, "Can I go bother the Iwa-nin, now?"

Satou looked at her blankly, which Tetsu matched with a cheesy grin. Her sensei finally sighed and waved his hand towards the general direction that Kinatsu had charged off to.

"Try not to blow up our ally," he said.

Tetsu grinned, the edges of which looked noticeably devious, and jumped up into the branches above them.

"Are you sure that was wise?" Inoske asked evenly. "The two of them seem more likely to blow up the forest."

"That's entirely possible, actually," Genma said.

The blonde leaning over his shoulder gave him an unreadable look from the corner of his eyes, but didn't verbally reply.

"Kinatsu did win the tournament," Satou commented, then looked back at the other Jonin leader, "How many of the Iwa do you think were Jonin level?"

Inoske shrugged, "Two, maybe three. Most of them were closer to a mid-Chunin level."

A shape burst from the trees in front of them, preceeded by a hail of projectiles. The Konoha shinobi reacted instinctively, dodging and retaliating in smooth motions. Nanami had jumped above the man, her sword arcing down to his head, as Shisui returned a volley of shuriken. The scuffle was relatively quick. The Iwa-nin was terribly outnumbered and rash, though he had managed to stick a few senbon into Ibiki before the boy had swung wide and caught the ninja's head between his fist and a tree. The Iwa-nin crumpled, blood trickling out of his nose and ears, and impacted the ground with a sickening sound.

"Damn needles," Ibiki grumbled, pulling the slender pieces of metal out of his thigh.

"That went quick," Satou commented, jumping down to the ground near the Iwa-nin's body. He kneeled and checked for a pulse, and shook his head when he felt none.

"Next time try not to kill him, Ibiki," Inoske said, "We could have used him for questioning. We still don't know why they wanted to capture us."

Another explosion rocked the air and was closely followed by indistinct shouting in two voices. They were too far away to catch the words, but it was clearly an argument. None of the Konoha ninja had any doubts as to what it was.

"Looks like she found him," Genma said, tonguing the needle in his mouth.

"Aa," Inoske said, sounding both amused and wary as he stared in the direction of the argument.

It was abruptly cut off and a moment later Kinatsu dropped silently out of the trees above them, startling the younger members of the group into fighting stances. The blonde eyed the kunai in the Uchiha's hand for a moment before dropping his bundle on the wide branch next to him. Tetsu growled at him around the thick strip of bandages that were serving as a gag. She was trussed up quite effectively, and was glaring murder at the blonde standing over her. Kinatsu simply smirked down at the girl, his expression clear despite the scarf masking most of his face.

The Konoha ninja stared.

"Uh," Satou started, stopped and shook his head. "Kinatsu, why did you tie up my student?"

The blonde grinned, his eyes crinkling up, though there was an element of agitation in his stance as well. "Because she tried to blow me up."

Tetsu shouted out her response to his accusation, and though her words were muffled by the gag her denial was clear, as was her attempt to insult him. Kinatsu looked down at her coolly as she thrashed at his feet.

"I told you not to blow him up," Satou said, sounding put out.

Tetsu growled, her eyes darting between the blonde above her and her sensei not far away.

oooOoooOoooOooo

Naruto was enjoying himself. Once he led the Iwa-nin out of sight of the two Konoha teams, he felt like he could let loose a little. Infesting the surrounding forest with a hundred clones felt great, though the stretched pull on his chakra was a new and unnerving sensation, and when the Iwa-nin threw one of them into a nearby tree only to have the tree explode barely two meters from him Naruto was grinning. His clones flushed out one more of the Iwa ninjas just before the explosion, dispatching the youth easily and with barely any exchange.

He hadn't managed to find the fourth one yet, and he knew that he had at least been around when they crossed his field of tag seals. He also knew that the missing ninja hadn't left his field, but he hadn't been able to find him yet, though he wasn't too worried. He was enjoying the deadly spar against his one opponent quite a bit, though he was getting frustrated that the man was refusing to talk to him.

"So," Naruto said conversationally as he dodged around the man's punches, "why did you want a Konoha team again?"

The man's eyes narrowed in annoyance and sent a sharp elbow jab at Naruto's face. Naruto knocked it out the way of his nose and landed a hard kick to the inside of his knee. The man grunted at the pain and staggered backwards, Naruto moved to press his advantage but a sudden influx of memories from a dispersed clone had him dodging instead.

The explosion rocked the ground under him as he rolled, and he could feel rocks and earth raining down on him and the heat of the blast warmed his skin uncomfortably.

"Damnit Tetsu!" he yelled, pushing to his feet and glaring in the direction he knew the girl was. She had ran right past one of his clones with her hands full of already lit grenades, the round balls of gunpowder laced with chakra nearly glowing with barely suppressed firepower.

"Hey!" she called back, perched in a tree above the destruction, "don't yell at me, you little twerp! I was helping you out!"

"Helping me!?" Naruto growled, "You nearly blew me to bits!"

"You have clones, blondie!"

"I'm not a clone you idiot!" Naruto shot back at her.

"You – what?" Tetsu stopped and stared at him, slightly shocked as his words sunk in.

Naruto ground his teeth.

"How the hell am I supposed to tell the difference!?" Tetsu yelled, getting over her temporary shock.

Naruto told himself that he wasn't supposed to kill Konoha Chunin, even if they did try to kill him – albeit only because of stupidity.

"You could have asked!" Naruto said.

"Like you would have told me, you annoying little shit! You probably would have – ergh!"

Naruto glared at the girl as two of his clones trussed her up like a roast pig. She was still shouting through the gag wrapped around her mouth, and was thrashing enough that one of his clones got hit hard and dissipated. The second tightened its hold of her and pulled the bandages mixed with ninja wire tighter.

"Got her, boss!" it said, grinning a bit evilly.

"Good, take her back to her sensei," Naruto smirked, knowing that hauling the girl back to her sensei like some wayward pet would annoy the hell out of her. Possibly enough that she would try to kill him the next time she got the chance, but Naruto was annoyed enough by her exploding help to do it anyways, if just because it was a good way to get back at her. Tetsu glared at him. The clone nodded, shouldered the girl and jumped back into the trees.

Naruto inspected the blown-to-bits area of the forest he was standing on the edge of. He couldn't sense the Iwa-nin he had been fighting, and there was no strong trace of where he could have went, if he managed to escape the explosion. The smell of blood lingered in the air, but he couldn't track it well, nor determine if it was enough to account for the man. The heavy scent of burned gunpowder and smoke coated the area, making following any sort of scent trail nearly impossible. His sense of smell was good, but he wasn't an Inuzuka.

Naruto circled the area twice, than headed back towards the rest of the Konoha ninja, giving up the way-ward Iwa-nin as a bad job. Tetsu's bombs had landed very close to him. Naruto figured that the chances that he was dead were high, but he was unnerved that he hadn't found much in the way of remains.

He was greeted by the vague amusement mixed with annoyance from everyone but Tetsu, who was steadily growling at his clone who was standing over her and making faces. Naruto looked around quickly, finding the Iwa-nin crumpled on the ground at Satou's feet.

"I wondered where he went," Naruto commented absently, then turned to the girl tied at his feet.

"Damnit Tetsu," Naruto growled, crouching near her head on the branch, "If he got away because you tried to blow me apart, than I'll string you up by your toes to dangle out of the Third's nostrils."

She paused in her growling to look at him in confusion for a minute before resuming her muffled death threats, having clearly now gotten what he meant. Naruto just stared at her, knowing that it was driving her nuts and enjoying every minute of it.

"One got away?" Inoske asked.

Naruto shrugged. "I got two of them for sure. Tetsu here might have managed to explode the third into enough tiny pieces that I can't find any of them, but I'm more inclined to think that he got away, though I'm pretty sure he's still in the area." Naruto finished by pointing over his shoulder with a thumb.

"How do you figure?"

Naruto pointed to the barely visible tag seal stuck to the tree just to his right. It was hidden well enough out of direct sight, but him drawing attention to it made it easier to spot for the others.

"Tags?" Kurenai asked.

"Seal Tags," Naruto said. "I had my clones place them earlier. They circle an area directly behind me and alerts me to any chakra signature that crosses in or out of the circle."

"That's handy," Genma said, eyeing the tag.

Naruto nodded. "Four signatures followed us into the field, and so far only you guys and that one down there have left it." Naruto eyed the Iwa ninja on the ground speculatively.

"So he's still there," Inoske finished.

"Most likely," Naruto said, looking back over his shoulder.

"There's a chance he's not?" Kurenai asked.

"Sure, if he can mask his chakra well enough, than the tag field wouldn't pick him up when he crosses it," Naruto said. "It's also possible that if he travels deep enough or high enough, that he'd be too far away from the tags for them to pick up on his signature, and he'd cross it without me knowing."

"As much as I'd like to get him," Satou said, "Our priority is getting Team Inoske back to to Konoha safely. The Iwa-nins are secondary."

"We are limited on time," Nanami said quietly, drawing Naruto's attention. The dark-haired girl rarely seemed to speak. "The senbon were coated with a slow-acting poison."

"What!?" Kurenai said, crossing to the other girl, "Why didn't you tell us?"

"It would have made little difference," Nanami said, "When we could not yet escape on our own."

"That would explain the itching," Ibiki commented.

"You got hit as well?" Inoske asked, looking at the boy carefully. Ibiki nodded, motioning towards his left leg.

Naruto grit his teeth, eyeing the two teams scattered around him. He wanted to finish the confrontation with the Iwa ninja, but he knew that Satou was right. Their priority was getting the captured team safely back to Konoha. Their injuries would require help, and the poison issue severely cut down on their time to get them there.

"Damnit," Naruto ground out, making the seal for his shadow clones. The technique made him almost dizzy for a second and Naruto blinked rapidly at the feeling. He then made a second, one-handed seal and deactivated his bloodline limit, sighing as the strange wearying sensation bled out of his limbs. It felt different than if he was exhausting himself from training or fighting. It was like his chakra was being pulled thinly from his coils, and it was very much unsettling. He was reaching a limit, he realized, and he didn't like it. It was far too soon. He had fought more and used more chakra during the first half of the Trials than he had on this mission. _'Might have to talk to Jiraiya about that,'_ he thought.

"Keep him busy," Naruto said and the thirty odd clones spread back into the area behind him.

"Where are they going?" Satou asked.

"They'll do distractions," Naruto explained, leaning down and cutting the bindings around Tetsu. The girl glared at him, but didn't start insulting or baiting him, seeming to have accepted that the seriousness of the situation wasn't a great time for either.

Satou nodded, "Will you be able to monitor the field form a distance?"

Naruto shrugged. "I haven't tested the distance before."

The Jonin nodded again, looking over the others, his eyes lingering on Ibiki and Nanami. "Kinatsu, can you carry Nanami?"

The girl started slightly and stared at Satou, while Naruto tilted his head at her, trying to gauge her weight. "Probably."

"Why?" Nanami asked, still giving the man a hard look.

"You were poisoned," Satou said, his voice as hard as her expression, "The less you move about, the slower it'll work into your system. I'd have someone carry Ibiki as well, but he's bigger than any of the rest of us, and he was only just hit, while you gut struck with many and some time ago. You'll be carried."

Nanami didn't object further, and Naruto summoned a messenger toad. Gamahade stared around her, then looked up at him from his feet.

"Candy?" the toad asked.

Naruto scowled, "I don't have any candy."

"Oh, well," the toad sounded put out. "What's up then?"

"I need you to tell Jiraiya that I'm escorting the teams back to Konoha," Naruto said, "And then let Minato know that we're on our way and should be there by nightfall, and we'll need a medic team. Two of them have been poisoned."

The toad nodded, looked around once again, and left in a puff of smoke.

The two teams plus Naruto made good time, considering their injuries. Genma and Satou took turns assisting Inoske, while Tetsu and Shisui kept a close eye on Ibiki and the boy's increasingly labored breathing. Naruto had his hands hooked under Nanami's knees, with one of her arms wrapped around his shoulder and neck. The girl was light, though he wasn't surprised with her shorter height.

By the time they neared Konoha at dusk, his clones had all dissipated, and he knew that one of the Iwa-nin had survived – the one injured from the explosion, but he could no longer sense the field or anyone crossing its line. Naruto was tired, and his chakra was low, which was making him feel irritated and weary, but Nanami's now nonexistent hold around his neck worried him more than his low chakra levels. She had steadily weakened as they traveled, and Naruto was holding her on his back completely on his own strength. He wasn't sure she was even conscious anymore. He could hear her heartbeat through his back, beating far faster than it should be, and her body felt over-heated.

A four-man medic team met them outside of the gates, forcing Inoske and Ibiki onto stretchers, while Naruto volunteered to carry Nanami all the way to the hospital. The medics kept one eye on the two men they carried, and one on the girl as they entered the village. Kurenai followed after her team, her eyes worried as she watched Nanami. Satou and his team left to report to the Hokage, and Naruto trailed the medics into the hospital, feeling Nanami's short, labored breathing on the back of his neck.

oooOoooOoooOooo

**Japanese used this chapter:**

1)Iwa – means rock. Iwa-nin is in reference to the Rock Country ninjas. Iwagakure (village hidden in the rocks) is a counterpart to Konohagakure (village hidden in the leaves). Konoha and Iwa were major enemies during the Third Great Ninja War – which ended about a year prior to Naruto's appearance in the past.

2)Ninjaken – a sword (type of sword). It has a straight blade. All of Konoha's ANBU carry one along their spine.

Gamahade is an original character – er, toad. Gama means "toad" and hade means "flashy" which mostly comes from her coloration.

Adachi Satou is an original character. He's supposed to be related to Rin. In concert with the canon story, he likely would have died in the Kyubi attack, but with the fox's retreat, he survived, like many others.

Shimizu Nanami is an original character. She's 16. She was mentioned back in chapter 4 during the Trials, as a friend of Kurenai. Naruto thought she was very interesting for whatever reason, though mostly because she didn't say a word to him.

Gah, another long chapter, and it could have been a lot longer. I kept cropping chunks of scenes out of it to keep the length down to something manageable. Also, I'm iffy about the whole fight thing in this chapter, but it wasn't so important to detail completely, so again, I kept cropping chunks out of it. Right, I'm done rambling, ta then!


	7. HYAKUNAN all sorts of trouble

**Chapter Dedication:** goes to my first and only beta, like ever: Mischievious Kitsune, who makes sure I'm not making stupid grammatical errors and the like. Thanks Misch!

**Author's Note:** Aight, multiple people have pointed out a seeming inconsistency about Naruto's taijutsu abilities. Let me babble about what I was thinking, and then you can tell me if it's totally idiotic or whatever.

My thoughts here are 1 – Gai is only 14, so he may still be an expert, but likely not as good as he was, and unlike Lee, Gai can use his chakra so I would assume he was a bit more balanced at this point, closer to him leaving the Academy, than he is portrayed as being later.

2 – Naruto essentially beat Gai because he used Ninjutsu in tandem with his taijutsu, which Gai did not do.

3 – Gai has an actual taijutsu STYLE, the Strong Fist Style. Naruto has no style, really. As noticed by Asuma and Genma during the Trials, Naruto looks to have hodge-podged things together into whatever works for him. This seems accurate to me in the manga as well. Naruto has a rough around the edges fight thing going on that is more vicious, improvised fist-fighting than any kind of actual martial arts (of course this is before he learns the Frog Katas in the manga).

4 – Naruto recognizes this and states that his taijutsu is sloppy because of it. He says it nonexistent because he doesn't have a specific style that was ever taught to him, not because he can't throw a punch. He doesn't know martial arts as much as he just hits things. So… he's kind of comparing his taijutsu to the likes of Gai, Lee or Neji (or also Sasuke) who all have specific taijutsu forms, which Naruto does not have.

5 – Naruto has (at least) seen Gai fight before, and had a pretty good idea of what to expect, which gives Naruto an extra hand up over Gai.

Make sense? Cool.

Someone asked me where I get my Japanese… I use an online translation dictionary, a link to which is now in my profile. Also there is a link to Wikipedia's article about Japanese Honorifics, which is informative.

**Disclaimer:** Naruto and etc. aren't mine, but there is a growing collection of original characters that will undoubtedly make their appearances.

oooOoooOoooOooo

**Namikaze Brothers Arc One :** Magirekomu Bettenchi (to be lost in another world)

By Renatus

**Chapter 07** – Hyakunan (all sorts of trouble)

oooOoooOoooOooo

_Six months after arrival…Konohagakure_

Naruto scaled the side of the Hokage's tower with a smirk hidden behind his usual scarf. He paused outside of the Hokage's open office window, listening for any conversation from within. The office was silent and Naruto crept up and in, crouching on the sill to look around the room. It was empty save for his father who was draped over his desk, snoring softly. Naruto blinked at the sight, a bit shocked to see the man sleeping, before grinning deviously and slipping into the room on silent feet. He looked around for a minute, taking in the mostly clean desk, the semi-organized shelving along one wall and an overflowing stack of scrolls and papers on a chair near the desk.

Naruto pulled a senbon and a small slip of paper from his pouch, and walked up the wall, wrapping the paper tag around the needle carefully. Keeping an eye on the Hokage, who was starting to drool on the scroll under his head, Naruto moved to the ceiling, moving as silently upside down as he had when moving across the floor. He positioned himself just above his father, and dangled the senbon from between his fingers, aiming its point towards the flat expanse of desk just to the side of his head. He let go.

The needle landed with a whisper of sound, sticking into the wood straight up and making the man twitch, but he didn't wake up. Naruto held his breath to keep himself from laughing. A second later the tag went off.

A muffled boom echoed from the tag, sending a small shockwave outward that was enough to rattle the stack of scrolls off the chair, but not loud enough to make the windows rattle. It was nothing more than a sound, not harmful and not even very loud, but Naruto knew what a shock to the system that small tag was when it went off right next to someone's head.

The reaction from the Hokage was immediate and impressive.

Minato flashed from his seat to across the room and somewhere in the process peppered the distance between him and his desk with something like forty kunai, ruffling the papers on his desk and knocking the slim senbon from its point and into the wall behind his chair.

Naruto blinked and stared at the man, having no idea when he pulled all those kunai or from where, and somewhat impressed that he had managed to hit the tiny needle, let alone make it stick into another object.

"Cool," Naruto said, grinning from the ceiling and still inspecting all the weaponry his father had thrown.

Minato stared at him, another kunai in his hand, and Naruto pointed to the senbon in the wall. "How did you do that, kiiroi-ani?"

His father let out a sharp breath and narrowed his eyes at him. "Naruto."

"Heya!" Naruto said, chuckling as he let himself fall from the ceiling, flipping to land on top of the desk. He pulled one of the kunai out of the wood and looked back at his father, grinning widely. "You just about jumped out of your skin, kiiroi-ani. Do you have any idea how hilarious that was?"

Minato frowned, twirled the kunai around his finger once and then let it fly straight at him. Naruto used the one in his hand to deflect it, jumping off the desk at the same time. He grinned and looked back at the other man, twirling his own kunai around his finger.

"I just snuck up on the Yondaime," Naruto chirped, quite pleased with himself. Minato's eyes narrowed.

"Naruto," Minato sighed.

"Did you know that you snore?" Naruto asked, still grinning widely. "And I'm pretty sure that you were drooling on your paperwork."

Something changed in the man's face and Naruto dodged before he even knew what he'd be dodging. The Yondaime disappeared just as he moved, and the man's foot whistled past his ear. Naruto felt a hand grip the cloth of his jacket just behind his neck and he was thrown down fast and hard to the floor. The force of it knocked the wind out of him and he looked up to see his father standing over him, one of his feet placed squarely on his chest. The Yondaime smirked and leaned down, resting his elbow on his knee.

"You know," he said conversationally, easily holding Naruto down with his weight planted on his foot and his heal digging into his chest just below his ribcage. "I wouldn't be much of a Hokage if I couldn't even beat my own little brother."

Naruto scowled and let out a gruff, "hmph," as he struggled to push on the foot holding him pinned to the floor.

"Hokage-sama!" A voice called out, and two masked ANBU were suddenly in the office. One of them had his sword drawn, while the other was crouched into a ready fighting stance with a kunai in hand. The two stalled, seemingly somewhat confused by the scene that greeted them. Naruto scowled at them, making Minato chuckle lightly.

"I'm fine," he said, waving his hand at them. The two ANBU stood straight, putting weapons away, though they didn't leave. Naruto looked the two over then narrowed his attention back to the man pinning him to the floor.

"Oi!" Naruto called, pushing against the man's shin, "get off me, kiiroi-ani!"

"Did you learn your lesson, little brother?"

"Learn my–" Naruto growled, "let's go out to the training grounds and I'll show you how well I learned my lesson."

His father laughed and moved away, allowing Naruto to get to his feet, grumbling about show-off Hokages.

Naruto stood off to the side, his arms crossed and scowling as his father dismissed the two ANBU and began collecting his weapons. The ANBU both shot looks at him before leaving out the door, no doubt not going very far.

"They're going to be in a bad mood for days," Minato said, pocketing kunai and shuffling through the papers that had fallen off the chair to the floor.

"Why is that?"

"You got in here without them knowing." Minato shot him a smile from his crouch on the floor. He glanced at a couple of the scrolls in his hand before curling his nose at them and tossing them onto the chair with the rest of the paperwork and scrolls. "That you got past their guard is no doubt rubbing them raw."

Naurto smirked. "They weren't guarding the window."

Minato glanced at him then shook his head, standing. "The window again?"

Naruto shrugged. "It's easier than the door."

"There are more traps littering the outside of this tower than most of the training fields combined," Minato said.

Naruto shrugged again, not bothering to contradict his statement.

Minato walked around the desk and pulled the senbon from the wall. Naruto took the opportunity to drag another chair across the floor and perched himself in front of the man's desk. Minato inspected the burned off tag on the needle as he sat in his own chair.

"What sort of tag was it?"

"A sound blast," Naruto said. "Got the idea from fighting against Oto (1). Those guys had the most annoying attacks, but their ears tended to be real sensitive, so those little sound tags worked well if I could get them to go off right near their heads. Would disorient the hell out of most of them."

"Oto?"

Naruto blinked. "Oh, yea. It was… you sure you want to know?"

Minato sighed and leaned back in his chair, twirling the needle between his fingers as he regarded his son-made-brother. "From your tone, I take it that the information is somewhat more detailed than initially expected."

Naruto half-shrugged. "Depends. Let's just say that it's a ninja village that doesn't exist yet but probably will."

Minato was silent for a minute. "I see."

Minato watched the needle weave through his fingers and Naruto remained silent, recognizing the thoughtful look on the man's face.

Naruto looked back at him, wondering if the man knew enough from what Naruto had told him to put some of the pieces together and puzzle out exactly where the Sound ninjas had come from. He rather suspected that the man had. Minato seemed to have a rather good memory and Naruto had told quite a bit of the story of his life. He was never very good at hiding things, especially from people whom he knew and trusted. Having Jiraiya standing there while he told the story made him much more likely to speak more of the details than if he wasn't. Jiraiya, Naruto trusted almost implicitly.

"Gamahade informed me that you and Jiraiya suspect that Orochimaru could be behind the capture of Team Inoske," Minato suddenly said, still watching the needle and his fingers.

"It's possible, but there was nothing that we found to support the theory," Naruto said.

"Where is the theory coming from?"

"What I know of him."

Minato nodded and set the senbon down on his desk, looking up at him. "You didn't get any information from the Iwa ninjas who were involved?"

"No." Naruto pulled in an irritated breath. "One of them escaped, but with the team's injuries, we couldn't afford to go after him."

"That is unfortunate. None of Inoske's team were able to get anything out of their captors either. They don't know why they were captured or where they were being taken."

Naruto remained silent for a while, debating on what he should or shouldn't say or if it even mattered. "It seems too early for Orochimaru to be going after bloodlines," Naruto said, giving up on trying to figure out if he shouldn't say something about some possible future that was already obviously going to be different. "I don't know when he started, but I didn't think he started to go after fancy genetics until after he left Akatsuki but," Naruto shrugged, "I don't really know."

"None of Team Inoske had a bloodline limit that was extremely impressive," Minato said. "However, both the Yamanaka and Morino lines are powerful in their own right, even if they aren't as popular." His father waved a hand dismissively and sat forward in his chair, leaning one elbow on his desk. "They are fine, by the way."

Naruto nodded. "I know. I hung around the hospital until the medic-nins said that Ibiki and Nanami were stable."

"Shimizu Nanami," Minato said. "The poison was slow-acting and eating at her chakra coils. She'll be in recovery for a week or more, and her body will be slowly healing for another month. The damage to Ibiki was far less; he had received a smaller dosage. That poison isn't anything the medics had seen before."

"Iwa is using a new poison?" Naruto asked it only as half a question. "Can't be a good thing," he mumbled, slouching in his chair.

"No, it's not." Minato's chuckle was humorless. "Though, Iwa is not known for their poisons, that is more of a Kiri or Suna technique."

"Or Oto," Naruto said, darkly.

The Hokage didn't respond to his comment, and the office descended into a semi-comfortable silence. Naruto pulled in a deep breath, remembering the sounds of confusion and barely restrained chaos in the medical ward as they had worked to identify the poison and heal the damage it was wreaking. Naruto wondered, briefly, if the team had been captured before – in Naruto's original time, and if so what had happened to them. But there was no way for him to know.

"Naruto," his father said, drawing his attention. Naruto blinked at the considering look the other blonde was giving him. "What do you know of Konoha's Torture and Interrogation Department?"

"Tort- what?"

Minato pulled out a folder and tossed it across the desk. Naruto caught it before it slid off to the floor and with a look at his father, let it fall open. The first page was a short report, detailing the need for additional Shinobi that could aid the T.I. Department outside of the village. He skimmed it quickly before flipping the page over, and was met with his own short Shinobi Bio. It said very little, as he knew it would, and had all the earmarks of a Shinobi walking around under a code name. He had once seen both Sai's and Yamato's bios and both had looked very much like the one he was now staring at. There would be another hidden away somewhere, with his real name and information on it, likely stamped with a red confidential mark and under a host of traps. He wondered where his father had hid it.

Naruto stared at the bio for a moment before raising his eyebrows at his father. Minato was sitting with his elbows on the desk, his chin resting in his palms, watching him.

"Keep going," Minato said.

Naruto flipped through the next few pages, taking in the identities of three other ninjas, and ending with another short report that detailed how the proposed new team could compliment each other on missions that aided and pertained to the T.I. Department. With his quick look over the report, he figured he agreed. His skills would compliment the others.

"What," Naruto started then stopped, staring at his father. Minato simply watched him in return, his gaze still considering, and making Naruto somewhat nervous under the scrutiny.

"You want me to join the Torture and Interrogation Department?" Naruto asked, somewhat incredulous, but even more surprised. He hadn't ever thought of joining the department, like he had never considered joining the ANBU. Their more structured ways hadn't quite agreed with him. His preferences and techniques were more suited to out-in-the-open sort of missions, not the sneaking around behind masks stuff that the ANBU did.

"No," Minato said, staring him in the eye, "I want you to become a Hunter-nin."

"A Hunter?" Naruto glanced back at the folder of profiles. He knew the others. He had just rescued most of them from captivity. It was essentially Inoske's team, though he would apparently be replacing Kurenai. He wondered, briefly, what the girl would do otherwise. Then he wondered if he would remain sane after being placed on the same team as Morino Ibiki, mental torture expert extraordinaire. The man – or his future counterpart at any rate – had caused Naruto no little amount of insanity and bruises over the years.

"Yamanaka Inoske spent some years as a Hunter-nin," Minato said, "and now that his Genin team are all Chunin, and what with the need we have to rearrange some of our ranks after the war, it's a good time for him to train a few of our Chunin as Hunters. I would like you to be one of them."

"Yamanaka, huh?"

"It's also a good opportunity for you to become part of a team."

Naruto thought about that. He had worked with others often, trading teammates around like any other shinobi for missions, but he had only really ever been a part of Team Seven, Team Kakashi. It would be strange to consider himself a part of any team but that one.

"Inoske will be able to teach you the parameters and procedures involved with the T.I. Department, as well as offer any extra training necessary," the Fourth said, leaning back in his chair. He looked Naruto over a moment before continuing. "I think that this is a profitable path for you, Naruto. Your skill set combined with a bit of extra training and knowledge of our Hunters' procedures could make you an excellent Hunter-nin."

"Well, alright," Naruto said, running his hand through his bangs absently. He didn't really have any reason to refuse the man, especially once he said something like that. He didn't mind the extra training, and while he had never really given the Hunter-nin division much thought before, he supposed he wouldn't mind joining their ranks. It was more interesting sounding than the ANBU at any rate. He was also pretty sure that it would help him to get Orochimaru later on, and be able to deal a bit more effectively with the Akatsuki. Missing-nins were pretty much a Hunter's prerogative and Naruto certainly wouldn't mind having that privilege.

Naruto grinned and closed the folder, handing it back across the desk. "When do we start?"

Minato nodded decisively. "As soon as Shimizu is cleared by the Medics."

oooOoooOoooOooo

_Six months (and a couple days) after arrival … Konohagakure's Shinobi Hospital_

Morino Ibiki looked like one of his future torture victims. Bruising and half-healed cuts lined one side of his face and circled his eyes, making him look a bit animalistic. The damage was far less than what it had been when Naruto had last seen him, but little healing had been applied to the boy's head and face, what with all the ruckus about the poison. Naruto thought he looked a bit like a badger with the bruising stretching down around his eyes and along his nose. If only badgers were as big as a bear.

Lying on the hospital bed with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face, Morino looked positively mutinous. His hitai-ate and usual clothing were piled in a chair in the corner, which left the boy's dark hair to fall around his eyes and ears. It made him look a lot younger than Naruto was used to – though the lack of scaring added to the other's youth tremendously.

Naruto watched the display from the doorway, smirking beneath the scarf that wrapped around his face and saved him from the other boy's glare.

The medic in the room wasn't taking any trouble from him, threatening to tie the boy to the bed if he didn't stay put until released, causing Morino's scowl to deepen. Ibiki's sensei was also there, perched on the nearby empty bed and looking about as amused as Naruto was. The man's long hair was pulled up and trailed down over one of his shoulders. Naruto always had a hard time telling the two Yamanaka brothers apart, with them being twins and dressing so alike, but Inoske had a scar that ran above his left eyebrow into his hairline that Ino's father, Inoichi, never had.

Naruto stepped into the room as the medic left, still smirking, and not caring much if Morino knew it.

"They will you know," Naruto said, drawing their attention.

"Will what, Kinatsu-san?" Inoske asked.

"Tie him up." Naruto sat on a stool near the foot of Morino's bed and gestured to the boy. "They've done it to me before, they'll tie him up if he doesn't stay put."

Inoske blinked, surprised. "The medics have actually tied you to the bed?"

"Erm, yeah." He looked at the other blonde curiously. "They haven't done that to you?"

"I know better." Inoske grinned. "I don't get caught when I sneak out."

Naruto frowned at the other blonde, catching the barely-there smirk on the other's face.

"What're you doing here, anyways?" Morino asked.

Naruto choked down the retort (insult, really) he had been about to give his new team leader and turned to the boy on the bed. "Just making sure you're still in one piece is all," Naruto quipped, "I don't want my new teammate to be missing too many brain cells cause he got himself poisoned by a few measly needles."

Morino blinked and just stared at him, his face showing nothing in the way of what he was thinking past his initial blink. Naruto wondered if the other boy had been told about the change in his team's members – he really couldn't tell from his expression.

"Yondaime-sama spoke with you, then?" Inoske asked. "Good, training starts as soon as Ibiki is out of the hospital."

"Yea, threw the damn folder at me actually, and pinned me to the floor," Naruto grumbled, "bastard."

"He pinned you to the floor?" Inoske said, his eyes a bit wide. Naruto wasn't sure if it was surprise, incredulousness or something else.

"Well, that was because I set off a sound – " Naruto stopped and looked at the blonde sideways. "When did he tell you I had agreed?"

"He's the Yondaime."

Naruto stared at the other man for a moment, trying to figure out exactly what he meant by that statement. Either Minato had sent Inoske some sort of message in the short amount of time between Naruto leaving his office and arriving at the hospital, or his father had simply assumed that Naruto would say yes to being put on Team Inoske and had told the Yamanaka before even asking Naruto. He wasn't sure if he liked the idea that his father knew him well enough to expect his answer (or that his father was sure enough of his bargaining skills to be able to sway Naruto).

"You're Kurenai's replacement?" Morino asked, drawing Naruto out of his thoughts.

"No," Naruto said at the same time as Inoske's, "yes."

The two blondes glanced at each other before Inoske waved for him to explain.

"I'm not a genjutsu type," Naruto said, turning back to Morino. "I can't replace her."

"What type are you, then?" Morino asked his eyes narrowed a bit.

Naruto shrugged, trying to buy time. He didn't know how much they knew of his skills, or what his father had told Inoske. It was possible that Minato had told the man more of Naruto's skills than what was on his sparse Ninja Registration document, but Naruto had no way of knowing until he talked to his father. He would have to stick with the skills that he had revealed during the rescue, then. Strictly Kinatsu, and not Namikaze Naruto. His sealing abilities would remain secret for now.

"Close combat, mostly," Naruto said, "you saw some of what I can do."

"Taijutsu?" Morino asked.

Naruto held up a hand and rocked it back and forth. "Not really, though mine's getting better. I'm more of a rush in and beat the lights out of someone than the careful forms of taijutsu type."

"I've noticed," Inoske said a bit dryly, then, "what weapons are you proficient with?"

"Eh?"

"Weapons, Kinatsu," Morino said, enunciating his syllables slowly, "weapons."

Naruto scowled at him, knowing the boy would be able to see enough of his face to know what he was doing. "I know what he said, badger-boy."

"Well?" Inoske broke in before Morino could retort to the nickname.

"Nothing specific," Naruto hedged, "beyond the usual at any rate. I can generally swing anything around but I don't always know what I'm doing. Though I got my hands on a bo for a while."

"A bo staff?"

"Hai, except they usually don't last long, I tend to break them."

Inoske nodded, looking thoughtful, and didn't say anything else about Naruto's tendency to break his practice weapons. Really, with the fox's strength Naruto had went through wooden bo staffs eerily quickly, especially in his spars with TenTen. Once TenTen had given him a metal-cased one, it lasted a little longer – until he bent it over the head of Itachi's shark-toothed partner. Naruto had mostly given up on the bo after that and TenTen never tried to give him another one, though she had started handing him a host of other, usually more sturdy sort of weapons. She seemed to enjoy trying to teach him how to use the things properly, though Naruto really was just better at swinging them around than actually using them in a way that a weapons expert would. He had sent the usually amiable girl into near fits more than once due to his improper handling of weaponry.

"Are you cleared for training?" Inoske asked suddenly. Naruto blinked and looked over at the man, finding his grey eyes staring back at him sharply.

"Eh, yes?"

"Good." Inoske got to his feet, pushing a single crutch under one arm and motioned for Naruto to stand.

"Where are we going?" Naruto asked, getting to his own feet and watching the man carefully. Inoske moved a bit slowly, shuffling his healing leg and obviously still getting used to the crutch some.

"My home, then the training fields," Inoske said, giving Morino a slap on the boy's shoulder before pushing Naruto out of the room.

"For what?" Naruto asked, letting the man push him into the hallway.

"I've an idea for a weapon for you."

Naruto paused and Inoske dug a finger into his ribs, making Naruto scowl at him and move forward again. He wondered what sort of weapon the man thought would be a good fit for him. Then he wondered if he should have told his father how he usually handled weaponry – if just so that Inoske would know and wouldn't get too… annoyed.

oooOoooOoooOooo

_Six months and a week after arrival … Konohagakure, training ground seven_

Naruto dodged, feeling the sharp edge of a kunai slice the air past his ear, and managed to put himself directly in the path of an incoming fist. It struck his face hard, whipping his head back at an uncomfortable angle, pain flaring – and the clone dissipated. His opponent stumbled only slightly, the sudden loss of the body his fist was hitting throwing him off balance, but only for a second.

Naruto threw a handful of kunai at his opponent, scowling when they were dodged and returned twice-fold. Naruto didn't bother to dodge them, and let another of his clones poof out of existence.

The real Naruto grimaced slightly as his clones' memories swept through his mind, echoing traces of their pain making his muscles twitch in sympathy. He watched his clone army engaging his sparring partner, the field of blondes making it somewhat difficult to tell him and his opponent apart. But the Yondaime's taller frame and mask-less face made him easy enough to pick out of the crowd.

That and Naruto hadn't actually taken his eyes off the man since they started.

He glanced briefly at the Third watching them from the tree line, his position given away more by the smell of tobacco smoke than by sight. The old man had wandered out to the field just as the two blondes were getting started. Neither of the Namikaze's had bothered to ask why the man was there. The curiosity in the older man's eyes was telling. Naruto had been just about to snap out something witty (and possibly border-line insulting) when his father started their spar with a well-thrown kunai. Naruto had retaliated with his hundred or more clones and their spar had degenerated rapidly from there.

Naruto was only glad that his father had so far been disinclined to use his Hiraishin, but the man was remarkably good at taking on an army all by himself, Flying Thunder God Technique or not.

Their spars had become a semi-regular occurrence, happening when Naruto was in the village and Minato had a few hours where he could sneak out of his own office. He had missed their spars during the half a year he was with Jiraiya, having only returned to Konoha for a couple short reports during his time away. Naruto had come to thoroughly enjoy them – however short they tended to last due to his father's Hiraishin technique – as he was able to spend a bit of time with his father and get a good feel of both of their skills.

And fighting against the Yondaime was something that Naruto found great enjoyment in, no matter that the man was also his father.

The appearance of a three-pronged kunai had half the clones left in the clearing swearing and the rest either burrowing underground or dodging into the tree lines. Minato's quick duplication of the special blade, and his subsequent use of the attached seals cleared the area of any visible Naruto clone (and a few that hadn't been so visible).

The Hiraishin left the Yondaime standing alone in the small field, looking around him somewhat absently as every Naruto that he had defeated had been a clone. Naruto himself remained in his hidden position in the tall branches of a nearby tree, watching his father's inspection of the area and wondering what his clones were going to try and do now that the annoying Hiraishin technique had come into play. Many of his father's seals were still littering the area, leaving the taller man with a distinct advantage over his son.

But among the three-pronged kunai were barely-hidden tag seals, placed under a simple henge to hide them and circling an area not far from the hokage.

Naruto just had to lure the man into it.

His clones were doing an adequate job of their task, burrowing up from the ground or coming out of the trees and half-luring, half-herding the other man into the hidden seal field. It took some time, and almost all of his remaining clones as well as his own interference, but Minato crossed the boundary of the circular field.

He had one of the Narutos in a headlock, a kunai pressed lightly to Naruto's jugular. Naruto countered with a move that Minato obviously hadn't been expecting, though he really should have. Naruto had spent years under Jiraiya's teaching, and it was only natural that he picked up some of the old pervert's techniques.

"Spiked Buddha!" Naruto called out, feeling his hair grow out around his head and shoulders in sharp spikes. His longer hair cut through its tie, standing up around his head and shoulders and making him look something like a defensive porcupine. His hair wasn't yet long enough to be as impressive as when Jiraiya used the same technique, where the man's technique hair practically cocooned him entirely, but it was very effective with neck or shoulder holds.

Minato jumped backwards from it suddenly, his shoulder and arm getting nicked before he could fully move out of the way of the suddenly sharp hair.

He moved straight across the seal field's invisible boundary.

It lit up like a beacon, chakra light racing from one tag to the next and spitting light and excess chakra up into the air like a tower. Minato and two clones were caught within the field, all three covering their eyes from the bright light that the field's activation brought.

As the light dimmed, Naruto was standing around the outside of the field, a few extra clones mimicking his position, leaving the Yondaime and two clones in the field loosely surrounded. Minato eyed him – and his clones – warily, and inspected the area of the seal field.

A shallow groove circled him, as if someone had walked around him in a circle and dragged a stick in the ground as they went. The seal tags were glowing faintly, feeding pulses of chakra into the lines connecting them all, leaving the barrier of the field quite obvious.

"What is it?" Minato asked, still eyeing the pulsing circle around him. The clones within the field with him just stood by, letting the man inspect the strange field and its tags.

"A seal field," Naruto said, grinning as his father gave him an exasperated look. Naruto let Jiraiya's hair jutsu go, the sharp spikes of his hair falling back around him in long waves. The jutsu had destroyed his tie, and he was left with his hair hanging loosely down to his shoulder blades rather than being in its usual low tail.

Minato eyed his hair, looking somewhat annoyed. "Jiraiya's technique."

Naruto nodded, still grinning.

"Figures," Minato grumbled, turning his attention to one of the tags. Naruto just watched him, standing a few paces outside of the field's boundary, waiting. His father walked the interior of the field, not crossing the line dug into the ground, and inspecting the tags that were no longer hidden under weak illusions. It was hard for Naruto to determine what his father was thinking. The man thought silently and with barely any facial expression. Naruto was quite curious whether the man would determine what exactly the seal field did, and how long it would take him to do so. The man didn't have much time before he'd find out the hard way.

"A shock release?" Minato sounded surprised.

"Aa." Naruto pointed to the grooved line circling his father. "A trap seal field, actually."

"Trap –" his father's eyes widened slightly and Naruto smirked.

"Don't cross the line, kiiroi-ani."

His father stared at him, his face blank before he laughed – a rich, infectious sound that had Naruto grinning in return. He liked the sound of it, hearing it. He hadn't heard Minato's laugh much and he was surprised at how glad he was to hear and see the man do so even more to have been the one to cause it.

"So it'll set off if I cross out of the boundary, then?" his father asked.

Naruto nodded, gesturing to the field with a finger. "It was activated when you crossed the boundary, and is powered by your chakra, or any chakra within its field."

"And crossing back out of the field?"

"Will set off the shock release, like a shock tag," Naruto said. "Its strength is dependant on what's in the field, how much chakra it takes from the ones trapped and how long you wait before you attempt to cross it again." Naruto eyed his two clones in the field with his father. "With all three of you, even though they're clones, it'll be a while before the field drains your chakra to the point that you pass out, and if you try to cross the field the shock might be rather strong."

"What happens when I pass out?"

Naruto shrugged. "Not positive. It should cancel the field's shock feature, but it might still draw chakra from you."

"You're not positive?"

"Afraid not," Naruto said, somewhat embarrassed by his lack of sure knowledge of one of his own seals. "No one was willing to fully test it and I haven't had the chance to try it on someone who I wouldn't give the choice to yet. It's the way I designed the thing, but –" Naruto shrugged, trailing off.

"Fascinating," Minato said, eyeing one of the tags he stood near.

"So, kiiroi-ani," Naruto got his father's attention again, and grinned brightly, "you going to acknowledge that I've just beat your ass, or am I going to have to leave you here to test out my seal?"

Naruto was gifted with his father's laugh again.

Then he was reintroduced to the reason why the man was Hokage.

Minato used the Hiraishin, flashing from the boundary of Naruto's trap seal field to one of the three-pronged kunai situated just behind his son's feet. The crossing of the boundary, no matter how fast, set off the seal's shock release. It lit up the area in a brilliant display of lightning that flashed around the circular boundary, jumping from clone to clone to Hokage, who had a kunai to Naruto's neck by the time the electricity caught up with him.

Naruto felt the gentle sting of the kunai cut the edge of his neck followed directly by the sharp shock of his own field's lightning as it followed the metal and coursed through his system. He gasped as his body seized, and he crashed to the ground hard. His limbs shuddered, uncontrolled, before leaving him sucking in air harshly as he tried to orient himself after the shock.

It wasn't quite enough to knock him out, but the sizzling feeling of the lightning element lingered in his limbs and he was left seeing large white spots any time he tried to focus his vision.

Naruto tried to stand and found himself tumbling back to the ground, his world tilting around him.

"Urgh," he rolled awkwardly onto his stomach, forcing one arm underneath him while the other still resisted conscious control. His father was in a similar state, sitting upright with his legs folded in front of him, leaning precariously on one arm and cradling his head with the other.

"Could have –" his father started, stopped and put a hand over his mouth, looking slightly sick. Naruto tried to focus on the man long enough to cement the scene in his memory – the day that he managed to reduce the Yondaime Hokage to such a state – but he still could barely see and the ground kept trying to tip him on his head.

Naruto groaned and pushed himself to his hands and knees, feeling very tipsy and a little sick as well. His muscles were twitching sporadically, and his heart was racing faster than it really ought to be, leaving him panting a bit with the combined adrenaline and oxygen. He reached up and pulled the scarf from his face, letting the material pool around his neck. The lack of cloth over his mouth and nose gave him the illusion that he could breathe easier, and unblocked any possible route his breakfast might try and take.

"I could have killed you," his father managed to get out. He didn't look sick anymore, but he hadn't otherwise moved, still half-sprawled, half-seated next to him.

Naruto grunted in response. He knew that his father had won, though he still figured it had been close. That they were both sprawled on the ground of the training field proved – something. But he also knew that in a battle, on a mission, the kunai that had barely scratched his neck would have cut right through it were it held by an enemy.

"You're buying lunch," his father said.

"Damnit."

"Well, don't you two look a sight."

Naruto just groaned again and let his body bonelessly fall back to the ground. He heard his father mumble something in response to the Third, which made the old man chuckle.

"Are you two going to live?"

Naruto rolled over and squinted up at the Third, who was standing over the two blondes, pipe puffing out a stream of smoke. The man looked like he had just been gifted something he had always wanted to see, grinning in a self-satisfied sort of way that tempted Naruto to use his sexy technique on the man just to wipe the look off his face.

Minato lifted his head enough to look his predecessor in the eye. "You set off that damned field, Hiruzen, and see how you look after it."

The Third chuckled, causing both of the blondes at his feet to frown, but neither of the Namikaze's were in much condition to do anything about the man's mirth at their expense.

"Son," Naruto rolled his head to look at his father, surprised at the little used term. His father hadn't moved much, his knees propped up in front of him with his head hanging low between his shoulders. "If you ever put me in that field again I will force you to sit through the entirety of the annual council budget meeting."

Naruto paled at the thought, staring at the man in horror. "Your threat– you wouldn't."

Minato's eyes narrowed, though they looked a little hazed. Naruto wondered if the other man was seeing as many spots as he was still. "Yes. Yes, I most definitely would."

oooOoooOoooOooo

It took the two Namikaze's some time to get back to their feet and be able to walk again. The shock field had caused their muscles to twitch and tremble for a good hour. While Minato still felt nauseous, Naruto's balance was screwy, leaving him stumbling around like he couldn't control his own legs. All the while the Third watched them, alternately chuckling and grinning like a fool. Once the two blondes seemed to have some control of their electricity-wracked bodies again the old man conveniently disappeared. They were left with shifty balance, sporadically twitching muscles and a strong urge to pay back the Third for the amusement he got out of the state they had managed to reduce each other to.

By some way that Naruto couldn't quite recall, they had made it to a tea bar not far from the training fields. It certainly wasn't Naruto's favorite (he dearly missed Ichiraku's Ramen) but Tsuribori's was an adequate second choice, as they served a variety of snacks, teas and a selection of sushi, that when combined and doubled was almost enough to feed his impressive metabolism.

"Is Inoske still miffed at you?"

Naruto paused in the action of stuffing three dango into his mouth, regretfully pulling the skewer with two of the sweet snacks away from his face. He chewed and swallowed, shrugging at his father seated next to him at the bar.

"Dunno," Naruto admitted once his mouth was clear of food, "I haven't seen him in a couple days."

Minato raised his eyebrows over his teacup. "A couple days?"

"He gave me a weapons scroll and told me to work on what he showed me." Naruto paused, tilting his head to the side slightly in thought, "I don't think he wanted to be around in case I shattered another broadsword."

"He's teaching you the broadsword?"

Naruto shook his head. "No, at least not anymore. He gave me another weapon," Naruto frowned, trying to remember what Inoske had called it, "some sort of staff with a chain on the end of it, but then he thought he'd show me the basics of some of the others. I think he was trying to see what I might work better with. That's when I broke the broadsword."

"Probably," Minato said, leaning over the bar on one elbow. "He started you with the chigirigi?"

"Chigirigi?" Naruto snapped his fingers at the name. "Yea! That's what it was called! The staff and chain thing."

Minato looked amused. "The Chigirigi. He seems to think you'd be good with weapons?"

Naruto glanced at his father out of the corner of his eyes. "You don't?"

"I don't see you as a weapons expert, Kinatsu."

"I'm not."

Minato nodded, turning his attention back to his tea.

"But I can store hundreds of the things in seals," Naruto said with a smirk, watching as his father nearly choked on his tea. Minato put his teacup down and turned on the stool to face him more fully.

"Did you say hundreds?"

Naruto nodded, still smirking and rather pleased with himself at catching the man off guard, if even only a little.

"How?"

"Spatial pocket seals with a weight component weaved into the third circle and applied to an animate surface."

Minato blinked at the explanation. "How do you weave a weight component into the third circle? Wouldn't it have to be the second?"

"Nope, not when the seal is applied to an animate surface, and it only works with the spatial pocket seals. Adding the weight component to any part of a transport seal will set the thing off. Now if you add the weight component to the second circle on an inanimate but organic surface like parchment, then that's considerably more stable, though the second circle limits the maximum weight of the pocket."

His father stared at him for a moment, though his eyes were a bit unfocused as he reasoned out how the seal would work. Naruto remained silent, stuffing his neglected dango into his mouth as he watched Minato think. Despite their common interest in the subject, they didn't often talk about sealing. Naruto had given Minato his coded scroll notes and his father had given him an unfinished seal technique, neither of which either of them had completed yet. Naruto wondered if their hesitancy to speak of the subject had something to do with the barren seals on him that once housed the nine-tailed beast.

His father's voice brought him out of his thoughts and nearly made him choke on his food. "What kind of animate surface?"

Naruto swallowed the dango thickly, feeling it settle a bit heavily with the accusing lilt to Minato's voice.

"Eh –"

"Are you talking about –" Minato snapped his mouth closed, staring at him with slightly narrowed eyes. "Where is it?"

"Where is what?" Naruto hedged.

"The seal. Where is it? Where did you place it?" Minato's eyes tracked down his arm, narrowed on his wrist before returning to meet his eyes. Naruto resisted the urge to fidget under the gaze.

"It doesn't matter," Naruto said, his voice oddly quiet.

"It doesn't matter? It does matter! You don't just put pocket seals onto your flesh!"

"Spatial pocket seals," Naruto mumbled, but he already knew the argument Minato was getting started on. He had heard it before, from both Jiraiya and Kakashi and even Sakura once they each had figured out what he'd done. He had been surprised that Sakura knew enough about seals to know exactly how foolish he had been.

"Spatial pock-" Minato's voice ended into a low growl, and Naruto risked glancing at the man fuming next to him. He couldn't quite read the man's expression; it was something like anger but not and with something else there as well. He thought it might be concern, but the not-quite-anger was far stronger.

"It's barren," Naruto said, his voice still very quiet.

Something flickered in his father's face. "What?"

"The seals, they're – it's barren."

"There's more than one, isn't there?"

Naruto nodded.

"How many?"

Naruto didn't answer right away, not sure how his father would react. Jiraiya and Kakashi had both been highly upset once they had gotten over their initial shock and anger. He had a feeling that his father's reaction would be somewhat similar.

"How many seals did you place on yourself, Naruto?"

Naruto shot his eyes to meet those of his father's, startled enough with the use of his name to respond honestly and immediately. "Four."

Minato let out a heavy breath, seeming to slump atop his stool. He didn't remove his eyes from Naruto's though.

"They were tied to the other seals," Naruto said, knowing that his father would want an explanation for why the spatial seals hadn't taken off his arm. Putting a transporting seal on the body was one thing, so long as the surface was large enough and the seal large enough to transport whatever was being brought through the seal – like shuriken or senbon. The seal acted only as a sort of door, bringing the objects from one location to another. But spatial pocket seals tended to be volatile when placed on a living body. They were best suited to parchment scrolls, and even then there were strict limitations on the things. One couldn't just seal away hundreds of weapons in one scroll, for instance – they had to be spread out, either over multiple scrolls or in a very large scroll. TenTen could give one of the most complicated explanations of Spatial Pocket Seals and their weight capacities that Naruto had ever heard. The girl used them in abundance with her weapons.

"How?"

Naruto shrugged. "They drew their chakra directly through the containment seals on my abdomen, which gave them their power." He paused long enough to roll up his coat and shirt-sleeve, showing off the barely-there scars of the barren seal on his forearm. "They were large enough that I could put just about any weapon in them, and with the power of the fox to draw from, they could hold pretty much as many weapons as I wanted to put there."

Minato nodded, inspecting the seal on his arm. Naruto let the man grip his wrist and turn his arm about as he looked at it. "So you didn't have to worry about overloading its weight capacity."

"Exactly. The fox was pretty much an endless supply of power, so as long as I had the fox's chakra to feed the seals, the seals could hold whatever I could fit in them – even hundreds of heavy weapons."

"And now that you don't?" Minato asked, meeting his eyes again.

Naruto shook his head. "I don't know." He looked at the seal he had engraved on his own arm. It was mostly circular, but it wrapped around his entire forearm, giving him more surface space to work with. The larger the surface area of the seal, the larger the object he could put in it. Then it was just a matter of weight – which was covered by the fox's endless supply of chakra. He couldn't pull everything he stored in the spatial seals out of it at once, but he could put as much in the thing as he wanted to, one piece at a time.

But he no longer had the fox's endless supply of chakra to feed the weight-barriers of the seals. They had gone barren and inactive along with the containment seals that held the fox in him. They were there, just not active, and it left him bereft of not just the fox but an entire arsenal of weaponry that while he didn't know how to use them properly, he could still throw, swing and lob them all around. The problem, however, was that if the weapons were still within the seals, than he should have lost a limb or four by now. It was like the fox took all his weapons with it and just disappeared.

It was annoying.

"They haven't reacted at all?" Minato asked, finally releasing his wrist. Naruto pushed his sleeves back down, glancing around him to make sure no one was paying him too much attention – or too little.

"They're as empty and inactive as the other."

Minato fell silent then, turning back to his tea with a thoughtful and somewhat worried look. Naruto let the silence remain, knowing that he hadn't heard the last on the subject. He got the feeling that he was going to get a repeated lecture from Jiriaya soon. At least he knew how to way-lay the older man's objections before he got too riled up.

oooOoooOoooOooo

_Six months and two weeks after arrival … Konohagakure_

With Nanami's clean bill of health and the entire team's peaking restlessness, the new Team Inoske took their leave of Konoha. Packed and wrapped in canvas coats to cut down on the chill wind that had settled over the village, the team passed through the gate, escorted by friends. It wasn't all that cold, but it was cooler than most of the year, and outside of the tall, sheltering trees of the dense forests the wind was chill.

"Yea! Let's do this!" Naruto called out, pulling in a deep breath of the cool winter air of Fire country.

"It's just training, Kin-gaki," Morino snorted stopping beside him. Naruto growled up at the taller (and younger) boy. Ibiki had healed up faster than his female teammate, though the scars across one side of his face were still fresh. "No need to be so excited."

"My training isn't _just_ training," Inoske commented. Morino cringed slightly and turned enough to give his sensei a strained grin.

"Eh-heh, sensei," he started, looking more nervous than when he had been poisoned on the last mission.

Naruto grinned and clapped the boy on the shoulder, hitting him hard enough that he actually managed to knock the larger boy forward.

"I'm looking forward to it," Naruto said, giving his new team leader a crooked grin behind his scarf.

"I like that kind of attitude," Inoske said, pleased. He glanced speculatively at Ibiki. "You could learn something from him you know."

Ibiki spluttered, stunned as Yamanaka wandered off towards his look-a-like, another Yamanaka shinobi. Naruto grinned at the man's retreating back and was about to holler something after him before Morino gripped his shoulder, hard.

"You're dead meat, shorty," Ibiki growled in his ear, low enough that his voice wouldn't carry far. "I don't care if you are his brother."

"Bring it on, Morino man." Naruto said, wondering how the other boy knew that he and the Hokage were related. They hadn't been all that careful with the cover-story, as was their plan, but it was still interesting that the boy would call him on it. Naruto didn't bother to deny it. He really didn't care to.

"Feuding already?"

"Kurenai-chan!" Naruto greeted, turning to the girl happily. Shimizu was with her, mostly hidden behind the canvas coat. She was still a little pale, even after a month of rest. Her dark bangs framed her face while the long length of it was braided down her back, trailing over the pouch at her belt.

"Think you can handle his lug, shorty?" Kurenai teased, grinning at him and eyeing him up and down. "He's about twice your size."

"Handled him in the tournament just fine," Naruto quipped.

Morino scowled at the reminder and Naruto grinned, amused at his annoyance. Kurenai let out an easy laugh and continued teasing her larger male teammate.

Naruto gave the two girls a smile that affected his eyes and backed away. The three former teammates fell into their own conversation, saying good-byes as Kurenai would remain in Konoha for her new position at the Ninja Academy. Naruto gave them the space, happy to do so, knowing what it was like to shift teams around and both leave and be left by friends.

"She'll be good in the new position," his father commented from his shoulder.

"She'll teach well," Naruto said, agreeing.

Minato hummed, a sort of agreeable and thoughtful sound that he made when Naruto thought the man wanted to ask him something but had decided not to.

"She'll make a good Jonin-sensei too," Naruto offered, watching his father's pleased smile out of the corner of his eyes. And Kurenai would, he knew.

"You'll be good in your new position too, Naruto," his father said.

"Hunter-nin?" Naruto shook his head slightly. "I suppose I've already done it some already."

"It'll suit you, I think."

Minato's hand clenched his shoulder, turning him enough so that their identical blue eyes could meet. His father smiled at him, hints of pride and approval laced in both his tone and expression. Naruto found that he liked seeing it from the man. He knew enough of emotions to know that the other blonde truly thought that Naruto would be good at this, and that gratified Naruto in a way that he couldn't quite identify. It made him want to try his hardest and to succeed in whatever task the man asked of him. It was a strange drive, different from his usual urge to prove his worth and existence to the world if just so that one other person would acknowledge him. With his father, though, Naruto didn't think he had to prove anything. His father already acknowledged him just as he was, and thought that he could do more. It made Naruto want to show his father that he could meet the man's beliefs in him.

Naruto grinned, knowing that his father would see the expression despite the scarf over his face and turned back towards the forest out of the gate.

"Alright!" Naruto called loudly, gaining his new team's attention. "Let's go!"

"Hey, who do you think you are?" Morino said, chasing after him as Naruto stalked down the road. The new Team Inoske trailed after them, saying their farewells and waving as they walked. Naruto kept up with Morino's challenging stride beside him until they reached the tree line. He spun on his heal and took in the sight behind him. Konoha's main gates towered up out of the forest floor, framed by trees and wispy clouds in a chill-blue sky.

He waved at his father, not as interested in the others gathered at the gate. "Later, Kiroi-ani!" he called cheerily. "Don't forget to get out of that high tower of yours and train every once in a while, else I'll beat you next time!"

His father's congenial wave morphed into a shooing motion. Minato shook his head and Naruto let out a bark of laughter, happy and content and spun back to the road. His team welcomed them into the formation, letting Naruto take up tail as they jumped up into the trees.

He smiled. He wanted his father to be proud of him and he already was.

oooOoooOoooOooo

Japanese used this chapter:

1)Oto – Sound, used in reference to the Hidden Sound Village and/or its ninja. Also: Otogakure (the village), or Oto-nin (its ninja/shinobi).

Tsuribori's Tea Bar is an original location. Tsuribori means 'fish pond'

And thus, this is the end of Arc One. Next chapter starts Arc Two: Kyubi no Sairai (Kyubi's Second Coming) dun dun dun.


End file.
